Not at all. Walk behinds still have a place yet. The mower I laughed at was one at Walmart. It was a tiny rider that if I sat on it, it probably would have vanished under my 250 lb body.
It's just the market seems to have made them so cheap that repair shops labor + parts just makes too costly to repair when compared to replacement. Same thing has happen to string trimmers too.
Heck when I was a teenager I was cutting a full two acres weekly with a 20" push mower. When I finally got a job I brought a rider. You know what I wrecked the first month I had it. I ran straight into to a tree while ducking limbs.
Just remember to torque the flywheel nut to 55 lb/ft (74.5 Nm).
