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Hello, new member here and I need your advice. I am looking at the 38" Regent or 44" Broadmoor mower for my 1/2 acre lawn next spring. I am a total rookie at a riding mower as I've always used a push mower for my lawn. But as I've gotten older now (68) cutting the lawn has gotten to be a bit more of a chore for me especially on those super hot summer days and during the fall with all the leaves to deal with.

I kind of go back and forth on which model is best for my needs. The 38 seems like a perfect size for my lawn yet I've read that it has the K46 transmission on it and that it may not be the best in reliability? Plus the fact that the Regent line, from what I've read, isn't the best for grass or leaf bagging. The Broadmoor on the other hand seems like it has a little more muscle to it, K57 trans. and maybe a better bagging system. But maybe it's a bit of overkill for my lawn??

My lawn is fairly flat with no major hills or low areas to mow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Cost wouldn't be a factor in my decision.

Thanks again, glad I found this site!!

Ken

I would stay away from Regent. Purchase a tractor from a Dealer not big box store & take your time researching & then go try it out operating all controls. Let us know which tractor you choose, thanks, Mark

Agree with Mark, Regent should work fine based on your description. As he said go through a dealership. If you are worried about bagging, take a look at the turbo bagging system.

Sounds good, thanks.

I would lean toward the Broadmoor due to the better build and stronger deck. If you have a lot of obstacles to mow around ( flower beds landscape and trees) you might want to take a good look at the a Courier ZT. I would go to the top of the line models like the XT model because it is built off the Ferris frame and is much more rugged if you need it. The Courier 25/52" might suite you well. I am 72 and can't get on and of my ZT easier than I could on my Broadmoor or Conquest. When it comes to yard work it's all about the deck. Simplicity has the best deck in my opinion. Talk to your local dealer and get his opinion as to which model he recommends.

bkeller500 said:

I would lean toward the Broadmoor due to the better build and stronger deck. If you have a lot of obstacles to mow around ( flower beds landscape and trees) you might want to take a good look at the a Courier ZT. I would go to the top of the line models like the XT model because it is built off the Ferris frame and is much more rugged if you need it. The Courier 25/52" might suite you well. I am 72 and can't get on and of my ZT easier than I could on my Broadmoor or Conquest. When it comes to yard work it's all about the deck. Simplicity has the best deck in my opinion. Talk to your local dealer and get his opinion as to which model he recommends.

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Good to know. I also started to look at the John Deere x370 mower but I get mixed views on it's bagging system. Plus that it doesn't have the free floating deck making it more prone to scalp your lawn. Really looking at a deck size no bigger than 44" because of my smaller lawn in general.

Thanks

For 1/2 acre, a simple 48" cut John Deer LA 145 or in that range will do. My lawn is realtively flat, and I do not bag.
I have a Sweeper and after mowing (discharging into Uncut grass) I do a quick sweep and dispose of clippings.

Gord Baker said:

For 1/2 acre, a simple 48" cut John Deer LA 145 or in that range will do. My lawn is realtively flat, and I do not bag.
I have a Sweeper and after mowing (discharging into Uncut grass) I do a quick sweep and dispose of clippings.

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I'll take a look, thanks.

The Broadmoor is better built than the Regent and will serve you longer. The price difference over the life of 10-years is minimal when divided by 120. Best thing about the Simplicity is the DECK. A Simplicity deck will give you a great finished look and if set properly will stripe better than any other deck on the market due to the rear rollers on the deck. I have a Simplicity Courier XT ( a crossover from Simplicity and Ferris) and the look of my lawn is far better than any of the neighbors. One trick I learned, is to take a $10 piece of aluminum from Home Depot and making a chute blocker. The chute blocker is fantastic for fall leaf mulching. No need to bag. You get a lot of blow-out ( it has to go somewhere) but it grinds up the leaves and returns them to the lawn. It's all about the DECK!

bkeller500 said:

The Broadmoor is better built than the Regent and will serve you longer. The price difference over the life of 10-years is minimal when divided by 120. Best thing about the Simplicity is the DECK. A Simplicity deck will give you a great finished look and if set properly will stripe better than any other deck on the market due to the rear rollers on the deck. I have a Simplicity Courier XT ( a crossover from Simplicity and Ferris) and the look of my lawn is far better than any of the neighbors. One trick I learned, is to take a $10 piece of aluminum from Home Depot and making a chute blocker. The chute blocker is fantastic for fall leaf mulching. No need to bag. You get a lot of blow-out ( it has to go somewhere) but it grinds up the leaves and returns them to the lawn. It's all about the DECK!

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Wow, great information. The one area I see that is mentioned more than a few times from user reviews is when mowing wet or longer grass the roller bar on the deck can get clogged fairly easy resulting in the bar not rolling but rather tearing your lawn?? Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks, Ken

pegken said:

Wow, great information. The one area I see that is mentioned more than a few times from user reviews is when mowing wet or longer grass the roller bar on the deck can get clogged fairly easy resulting in the bar not rolling but rather tearing your lawn?? Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks, Ken

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I have owned a Simplicity, Broadmoor, Conquest, Courier and now a Courier XT, all of them had the deck rollers for striping. Never once has any of them had a issue with collecting buildup on those rollers that eventually caused the rollers to skid or slide instead of rolling. Yes it can build up with very wet grass or if you mow in the rain, but the rollers have never been skidding or tearing the grass. I guess it could happen but in my experience ...never!
I have caught the roller on a root a few times and once had bent the shaft, but that was easily fixed. Simplicity has changed the way the decks are mounted. Previously they hooked on a front mounting block and the decks followed the tractors while riding on the rear deck rollers. They now suspend the decks via chains on some models and that takes the weight off that rear deck roller. It still rolls the grass over but now it's 1/2" -1" higher than the ground and isn't supposed to ride on the ground. Talk to you dealer and he can show you what I am referring to.

bkeller500 said:

I have owned a Simplicity, Broadmoor, Conquest, Courier and now a Courier XT, all of them had the deck rollers for striping. Never once has any of them had a issue with collecting buildup on those rollers that eventually caused the rollers to skid or slide instead of rolling. Yes it can build up with very wet grass or if you mow in the rain, but the rollers have never been skidding or tearing the grass. I guess it could happen but in my experience ...never!
I have caught the roller on a root a few times and once had bent the shaft, but that was easily fixed. Simplicity has changed the way the decks are mounted. Previously they hooked on a front mounting block and the decks followed the tractors while riding on the rear deck rollers. They now suspend the decks via chains on some models and that takes the weight off that rear deck roller. It still rolls the grass over but now it's 1/2" -1" higher than the ground and isn't supposed to ride on the ground. Talk to you dealer and he can show you what I am referring to.

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Bkeller500, many thanks for the information as it sure does ease my mind a bit. Being 68 ( in the tooth) I still plan on using my Honda push mower at certain times when conditions are favorable. Thinking mainly when it's cool temp's and no leaves to worry about. The Broadmoor 44 however sounds like it will be a welcome relief for me in the summer and fall when the heat, humidity and all the leaves can be a problem.

Thanks again, Ken

pegken said:

Bkeller500, many thanks for the information as it sure does ease my mind a bit. Being 68 ( in the tooth) I still plan on using my Honda push mower at certain times when conditions are favorable. Thinking mainly when it's cool temp's and no leaves to worry about. The Broadmoor 44 however sounds like it will be a welcome relief for me in the summer and fall when the heat, humidity and all the leaves can be a problem.

Thanks again, Ken

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Before you pull the trigger ask your dealer about the Broadmoor 23/48". The 44" deck is a stamped deck and the 48" is the fabricated deck. The 44" may still be mounted the old way and the 48" Fabricated the new way.. I cannot tell from the web site. Not that they will mow your lawn much differently, but you should know the difference before you purchase and not after. Good luck to you. Enjoy!

I'll do that and ask about the differences between the 44" and 48" decks.

I was more inclined to get the stamped 44" deck however as I heard it isn't as heavy as the fab deck? I would like to be able to remove the deck each fall to clean it out underneath and to remove and sharpen the blades. So having a deck that weighs less would certainly make it a whole lot easier for me to handle and move around.

Thanks again, Ken

You are correct the 48" Fabricated deck is a beast. Very difficult to remove and slide around. I purchased a MoJack lift so I could Clean the deck, lubricate and change the blades without taking the deck off.

Bought a Regent new. Kept it two years and traded it in on a Broadmoor. Hated the Regent. Broadmoor is more than worth the extra money.

Looks like allot of money for a Briggs & Stratton engine?

enigma-2 said:

Bought a Regent new. Kept it two years and traded it in on a Broadmoor. Hated the Regent. Broadmoor is more than worth the extra money.

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enigma, what were the main reasons for the switch? I'm definitely leaning towards the 44 Broadmoor but the idea of a smaller mower like the Regent is appealing too.

Several areas.

First is the tires are too small, makes the chassis too close to the ground. This make it impossible to get the mowing deck off the ground completely. When going from driveway to grass, it gouges.

Also I part my tractor in a shed and use 2x8's as a ramp. This makes it d.r.a.g. up the ramp onto the shed floor.

Hated Simplicity for designing this pice of shit. Took it back to the selling dealer and he couldn't figure anything out. So he called Simplicity engineering. I was in the office when he called. They had no answer other that that's the way its supposed to be.

Hated the way the deck adjusted the cutting height. I literally had to get off the tractor to gain enough strength to crank the damn thing up.

Several other complaints with the Regent that I don't remember now.

The Broadmoor has bigger tire with more ground clearance and an electrical deck height motor. Deck comes completely off the ground, barely, but it doesn't drag going from driveway to grass and putting it in the shed. Nice to adjust grass height by pushing a button. Better seat and better ride too. "Feels" heavier, smoother.

I feel the Broadmoor was worth the difference in price. (How much value is constant aggravation worth)?

enigma-2 said:

Several areas.

First is the tires are too small, makes the chassis too close to the ground. This make it impossible to get the mowing deck off the ground completely. When going from driveway to grass, it gouges.

Also I part my tractor in a shed and use 2x8's as a ramp. This makes it d.r.a.g. up the ramp onto the shed floor.

Hated Simplicity for designing this pice of shit. Took it back to the selling dealer and he couldn't figure anything out. So he called Simplicity engineering. I was in the office when he called. They had no answer other that that's the way its supposed to be.

Hated the way the deck adjusted the cutting height. I literally had to get off the tractor to gain enough strength to crank the damn thing up.

Several other complaints with the Regent that I don't remember now.

The Broadmoor has bigger tire with more ground clearance and an electrical deck height motor. Deck comes completely off the ground, barely, but it doesn't drag going from driveway to grass and putting it in the shed. Nice to adjust grass height by pushing a button. Better seat and better ride too. "Feels" heavier, smoother.

I feel the Broadmoor was worth the difference in price. (How much value is constant aggravation worth)?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I also feel you get what you pay for and if the Regent 38 is giving you so much grief it's definitely not worth keeping. I had no idea that the low hanging deck was a problem so that was good to know seeing that I would have to go from driveway to grass several times to cut my lawn.

Great information, thanks.

Ken

Keep in mind, the reason for the dragging is one of the reasons you would consider a Regent. That rear deck roller is supposed to follow the ground and raise and lower the deck as needed. That is also is the mechanism for striping your lawn. The Broadmoor has the electric lift but because of the electric lift it will not lower the rear deck roller as far thus rendering less lawn striping. It's a tuff choice but there is a difference. The Regent will put the full weight of the rear of the deck on the ground for striping......The Broadmoor's electric lift will lower the deck only part way and will not put the full weight on the turf. I have had both. I am uncertain but I think the Regent has a deck transport lever that lifts the deck into a transport position ( not sure it's still manufactured that way).... When you set the Braodmoor cut height vial the electric switch and start mowing, the deck potentially be too high when you get to some low spots. Chasing the cut height with the electric switch is hit and miss and causes uneven cutting.

bkeller500 said:

Keep in mind, the reason for the dragging is one of the reasons you would consider a Regent. That rear deck roller is supposed to follow the ground and raise and lower the deck as needed. That is also is the mechanism for striping your lawn. The Broadmoor has the electric lift but because of the electric lift it will not lower the rear deck roller as far thus rendering less lawn striping. It's a tuff choice but there is a difference. The Regent will put the full weight of the rear of the deck on the ground for striping......The Broadmoor's electric lift will lower the deck only part way and will not put the full weight on the turf. I have had both. I am uncertain but I think the Regent has a deck transport lever that lifts the deck into a transport position ( not sure it's still manufactured that way).... When you set the Braodmoor cut height vial the electric switch and start mowing, the deck potentially be too high when you get to some low spots. Chasing the cut height with the electric switch is hit and miss and causes uneven cutting.

Click to expand...

So it sounds like you're saying that the Regent may stripe and cut uneven grass better than the Broadmoor? Also there maybe a way of having the deck on the Regent lift higher for transport into a shed or from going from driveway to grass without gouging or scalping? Wow, it looks like I have to do a whole lot more research into the two. I would have thought that the Broadmoor was going to be a big step up in overall performance compared to the Regent but now you've got me thinking again!!

Thanks for the great insight and helpful comments before I pull the trigger on one of these two mowers.

Ken

bkeller500 said:

Keep in mind, the reason for the dragging is one of the reasons you would consider a Regent. That rear deck roller is supposed to follow the ground and raise and lower the deck as needed. That is also is the mechanism for striping your lawn. The Broadmoor has the electric lift but because of the electric lift it will not lower the rear deck roller as far thus rendering less lawn striping. It's a tuff choice but there is a difference. The Regent will put the full weight of the rear of the deck on the ground for striping......The Broadmoor's electric lift will lower the deck only part way and will not put the full weight on the turf. I have had both. I am uncertain but I think the Regent has a deck transport lever that lifts the deck into a transport position ( not sure it's still manufactured that way).... When you set the Braodmoor cut height vial the electric switch and start mowing, the deck potentially be too high when you get to some low spots. Chasing the cut height with the electric switch is hit and miss and causes uneven cutting.

Click to expand...

That's complete nonsense. You don't understand how these tractors work. Both Regency and Broadmoor have manual lift levers to rase and lower the deck off the ground.

The electric lift on the Broadmoor only adjusts the height of the blades inside the deck. On the Regency its done by manual screw. (And its a bitch when raising the height as your screwing against the weight on the deck).

When the deck on the Broadmoor is lowered, it puts full weight on the back roller. It strips just fine. But, it comes completely off the ground when the deck raised. The Regency deck never off the ground. The Regency is just a poor design. After calling Simplicity the dealer turned to me and said "that's bs". He tried different lift links and finally decided there was no way to get the deck to lift off the ground. Its the larger tires on the Broadmoor that gives the extra clearance for the deck.

Speaking of stripping, it's not all its made out to be. Ok on large, open areas, but on small side yards, it loses its charm. Making turns and small areas mess it up.

And even on the nice stripped areas, the stripping fades fairly quickly. (Grass straightens back up). Looks nice for a little while, but I could live without it.

enigma-2 said:

That's complete nonsense. You don't understand how these tractors work. Both Regency and Broadmoor have manual lift levers to rase and lower the deck off the ground.

The electric lift on the Broadmoor only adjusts the height of the blades inside the deck. On the Regency its done by manual screw. (And its a bitch when raising the height as your screwing against the weight on the deck).

When the deck on the Broadmoor is lowered, it puts full weight on the back roller. It strips just fine. But, it comes completely off the ground when the deck raised. The Regency deck never off the ground. The Regency is just a poor design. After calling Simplicity the dealer turned to me and said "that's bs". He tried different lift links and finally decided there was no way to get the deck to lift off the ground. Its the larger tires on the Broadmoor that gives the extra clearance for the deck.

Speaking of stripping, it's not all its made out to be. Ok on large, open areas, but on small side yards, it loses its charm. Making turns and small areas mess it up.

And even on the nice stripped areas, the stripping fades fairly quickly. (Grass straightens back up). Looks nice for a little while, but I could live without it.

Click to expand...

Thanks enigma-2 for the clarification. I too thought it rather odd that the Broadmoor 44 would be a step back in comparison to the Regent 38 as far as striping and ground clearance? It just didn't make any sense to me?

Anyway, truth be told, the striping is of little importance to me as I do have a smaller lawn. What is important to me is reliability of the mower, cut quality and it's ease of use especially now that I'm in my late 60's.

Thanks again for clarifying the differences,

Ken

enigma-2 said:

That's complete nonsense. You don't understand how these tractors work. Both Regency and Broadmoor have manual lift levers to rase and lower the deck off the ground.

The electric lift on the Broadmoor only adjusts the height of the blades inside the deck. On the Regency its done by manual screw. (And its a bitch when raising the height as your screwing against the weight on the deck).

When the deck on the Broadmoor is lowered, it puts full weight on the back roller. It strips just fine. But, it comes completely off the ground when the deck raised. The Regency deck never off the ground. The Regency is just a poor design. After calling Simplicity the dealer turned to me and said "that's bs". He tried different lift links and finally decided there was no way to get the deck to lift off the ground. Its the larger tires on the Broadmoor that gives the extra clearance for the deck.

Speaking of stripping, it's not all its made out to be. Ok on large, open areas, but on small side yards, it loses its charm. Making turns and small areas mess it up.

And even on the nice stripped areas, the stripping fades fairly quickly. (Grass straightens back up). Looks nice for a little while, but I could live without it.

Click to expand...

Just looking at the Boradmoor parts diagrams, I don't see where the Simplicity electric lift just adjusts the height of the blades up and down Must be something new. Never heard of that before. My bad!

Electric switch lowers & raises deck, click above.

mechanic mark said:

Broadmoor™ Lawn Tractor

The Broadmoor lawn tractor has what it takes to create the best looking lawn on the block. By marrying performance features with comfort features, we've created a masterpiece that is more like a luxury experience than a chore.

www.simplicitymfg.com

Electric switch lowers & raises deck, click above.

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Wow, absolutely didn't know that?? I thought the deck itself was raised or lowered by a manual lever on the mower?

Thanks for the update

The deck is raised and lowered (from transport position to mowing position) via a lever on the right fender (next to the seat). And its a bitch to use, very hard to unlock. Lowering go quick, raising requires a good jerk to get the momentum needed. I liked an old tractor i had, forget the brand now, but it had the deck lift lever on the side of the engine shroud. Swung in a large arc and made lifting the deck easy.

On the Broadmoor, the electric blade lift is mounted on the deck (not tractor) and just raises and lowers the blades by raising and lowering the deck by pressing against the stripping roller. The roller is ALWAYS pressed to the ground by the weight of the deck, and the deck lifts separately from the rollers, which changes the height of the blades (which are fixed height in relation to the deck).

I liked the old way Simplicity raised the deck. (Big, long lever.) The current one is made for looks, not ease of use. If you spend around $10 grand, you can get an electric deck lift on the Prestige.

Unrelated, its almost impossible to remove my deck from the tractor. Dealer said "oh its easy, just" .... then he tried it. Spent 10 minutes, looked at me with a red face and said the Simplicity didn't engineer this right. 52" deck. Smaller decks come off easily, avoid thd 52" deck. Damn Simplicity engineering. Chains are too short. If I add a link, deck won't clear the ground for transit.

The old Broadmoor I had years ago, had a long lever on the left side that you could pull back to lift the entire deck to a transport position. It had a screw mechanism on the right to raise and lower the height of cut which worked pretty as long as you kept it lubricated.
I have the 52" Simplicity Fabricated deck on my Courier XT and it's a beast. It's very heavy. Fortunately my XT has a foot lever to raise the deck and locking mechanism at the top position.
Simplicity has changed the method and mechanics of raising and lowering their decks over time trying to make it easier to transition from mowing height to transport position for their heavy decks while still allowing for the rear deck roller to do it's job of carrying the weight of the deck and striping.
The systems they use on the tractors to lift to alter the HOC and transport is a little different from the systems they use on the Zero Turns. Rather than try to man-handle the deck (removal) for cleaning and maintenance, I purchased a MoJack to lift the front of the XT so I could slide under and scrape the deck, change blades and maintenance. The 48" isn't much lighter.

As a service guy for John Deere said, don't buy the 1xx series John Deeres. I would go Broadmoor at least. I have a Prestige. I removed the deck once. That was enough. I use a Mower lift to service the deck now. At 75 easy is better.

enigma-2 said:

Several areas.

First is the tires are too small, makes the chassis too close to the ground. This make it impossible to get the mowing deck off the ground completely. When going from driveway to grass, it gouges.

Also I part my tractor in a shed and use 2x8's as a ramp. This makes it d.r.a.g. up the ramp onto the shed floor.

Hated Simplicity for designing this pice of shit. Took it back to the selling dealer and he couldn't figure anything out. So he called Simplicity engineering. I was in the office when he called. They had no answer other that that's the way its supposed to be.

Hated the way the deck adjusted the cutting height. I literally had to get off the tractor to gain enough strength to crank the damn thing up.

Several other complaints with the Regent that I don't remember now.

The Broadmoor has bigger tire with more ground clearance and an electrical deck height motor. Deck comes completely off the ground, barely, but it doesn't drag going from driveway to grass and putting it in the shed. Nice to adjust grass height by pushing a button. Better seat and better ride too. "Feels" heavier, smoother.

I feel the Broadmoor was worth the difference in price. (How much value is constant aggravation worth)?

Click to expand...

I'm a relic from the past and that stubby Deck Lever on my Broadmoor has got to go. I'm 'in the process' of getting it extended by a local weld shop. This wouldn't be necessary if I had sense enough to mess with the lever at the dealer....BEFORE buying!

J, you need to know this thread is 18 months old

J, you need to know this thread is 18 months old?

You need to know I don't care.