S. M. Henning wrote:

(Roy) wrote:



There is absolutely no
advantage a gear drive in a L & G tractor has over a hydro
drive.........hands down its the better , no, BEST way to go.....



In the manual for the John Deere OMM149664, Issue L3 Lawn Tractors
LX280, LX280AWS, and LX289 PIN, automatic transmission tractors it
specifically says:

"Do not use cruise control when going down hills. Machine speed will
increase."


Then don't use cruise control when going down hills. I don't have cruise
control on my hydrostatic tractor and it actually brakes when going down
hill, as long as I take my foot off the pedal.

That means you have to keep your foot on the "forward pedal" like a
throttle when going down hills.


And that would be a means to brake the mower? What about the brake
pedal, or is that not mentioned? In a car, the brake pedal will
disengage the cruise control, does that not happen with a tractor.
I don't have cruise control, so you will have to enlighten me. I'll take
your expertise opinion on this.

With a gear-shift transmission you go up and down hill without touching
any levers or pedals. Their speed doesn't increase going down hills.
They are much safer.

Did you ever own a hydrostatic tractor, or are you just going by some
pre-conceived assumption?
After all, as you said, you have a lawn as flat as a billiard table,
never have to back up, and use only a single forward gear, so how would
you know about hills, braking, and backing up?