I have never ever seen someone break a pullstart spring. How hard do you pull it? What environments do you run in? Personally, I prefer pullstarts since a Roto-Start is just one more thing to quit on me before my day is over. Also, if the engine floods, with a Roto-Start, you'll blow the one way bearing without knowing the engine is flooded, while with a pullstart it locks up when the engine is flooded. In addition, if the engine is tuned correctly and primed properly, then the engine should fire up within 5 pulls, otherwise you know something is wrong. With a Roto-Start, you'll spin the engine until it fires; and a moment without fuel is a moment without oil, so its going to be like "grind, grind, grind" on the engine components.