This novel genre of brush mower is observably incomprehensible to the sophisticated observer. Unfortunately, there is no independent journalism that I have been able to find to help understand the concept and assess its validity. There are lots of company-generated videos, and while certainly impressive, they are advertising pieces.
I have had Gravely walk behind tractors for 45 years. They are immensely durable, rugged tools. Set up with their 30 inch long, 3/8 thick blades, double ag wheels, and two speed axle, they will grind up heavy brush and high weeds all day long for decades. But it is a young man's tool; I'm only good for a couple of hours up on the railway embankment and then it's nap time. (I think my current one may weigh 700 pounds, all in.)
I also have had diesel tractors with four foot Woods bush hogs, and they are wonderfully productive on flatter, open areas.
A Gravely set up with a 42" sickle bar and double ag wheels was pretty good at floating in boggy areas to control multiflora rose and assorted weeds, but I always had trouble with them getting fouled as the materials being cut lay down and packed the cutting surfaces.
A friend told me about the 5hp wheeled weedeaters pioneered, I think, by DR Mowers. They are fabulous around big rocks. I run 155 cord, and you can guess at the productivity by thinking of what would happen if your best straight shaft, bike handle bar-controlled and harness suspended brush cutter had a 5hp engine. But good luck lifting it if it did.
But I do also run just such a 35cc weedeater with 131 cord, and it is astounding in its place.
So obviously I have a certain amount of experience in rough and steep terrain, with some success and lots of frustration. I've always gotten the job done, but at 70, I figured I needed a "geriatric strategy" if I hoped to keep this up for more years.
That is where my thinking was when I encountered the Canycom 4wd riding brush cutters on the internet. I thought they looked silly. But their advertising videos showed them going through heavy stuff with, to me, unaccustomed speed. They left a clean, well chopped path. Instead of 30 inch max, it was close to 40.
This was a true specialty machine-anywhere you could use a tractor drawn bush hog, you would, in preference to this. But I spend enough hours a year in brush and high weeds on terrain that precludes big gear, to want to know more. So I bought a used Canycom cmx227.
Now I have logged a dozen hours on the meter, and all of it is cutting where I have used the above described tools in the past. So this is early days, but here are some impressions. It is powerful. With 22 hp and two cylinders, it marches through the heavy stuff that would have me backing and forwarding with Gravely, and nothing seems to phase it. Because you can set the deck as high as 6 inches, it seems to dodge almost all the hazards. With the 4wd and the locking rear differential, you can power through real challenge.
As they say, anything you can bend down, you can chop up.
It seems remarkably capable on steep terrain. I chicken out before this thing does. So I still don't know its limits.
A few days ago I cut a highly varied three acres, a third of which polished me off last fall with the Gravely. Because I was now RIDING, I did it all and then looked for more to do in the afternoon. This was a clear affirmation that my geriatric objective was on track.
You can see there are a lot of companies
that have followed the original Japanese makers of these things. They all have the same basic configuration - weird little wheels, the low slung seat, short wheel base, belly mounted single blade, 4wd with locking dif., strong engines. And they weigh around 750 pounds. Given the engineering, tooling, and other manufacturing and marketing challenges, and in light of the niche target market, you have to surmise the other Japanese, the Italians, the Germans, etc, saw virtue in the concept.
I think the key is the combination of extremely low center of gravity, extremely short wheel base, substantial weight and sophisticated drive train for tractive competence as well as remarkable clearance. (Think about it: 6" clearance with an SUV wheelbase wouldn't clear anything. 6" in the context of a 51" wheel base and you can do a lot of work here in the Rocky Mountains.)
So far, as Rick said to Louis in Casablanca, "This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship." In time, if there is more of value to add, good or bad, I will follow up here. Meanwhile, I hope to see what more knowledgeable critics can tell us about this clearly valuable innovation.
