Richard Turner's Gold Seal Bicycle Deck

[eostresh]

Richard Turner’s Gold Seal Bicycles


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Where to buy:
Bicycle Playing Cards (Gold Standard) - BLUE BACK by Richard Turner - Trick
Price:$3.75/deck

For more information about my reviewing methods and a list of other reviews: Deck Review Template

If you are interested in my Buyers guide check out this link: Playing Card Buyers Guide:(for magicians and cardists)




Initial Impressions:

It is as the ad copy says, a Bike on Bee stock with a traditional cut. Who could complain? This is basically a card that has about all of the same performance characteristics as a high quality Bee Aristocrat deck except that it is printed with a Bicycle Rider back deck and given a traditional cut.


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The Look:

Not much to say. It looks like a Bicycle Rider back deck. It includes a blank faced card to be used as a cut card and an ad card for Richard Turner’s show down creations.

Card Construction:

The cards come in at about 15mm(-3 Bikes) which sounds about right if this is the Bee stock. Like every other Bike card these seemed to be printed a bit off center but in all other ways it seems like an excellent quality deck. The only real difference I have noted with the traditional cut is that these cards will faro in the opposite direction easier. (well…actually I can’t remember the last time I had a Bike card that faroed well at all)

Handling:

These handle almost the same as the Bee Aristocrats except that they won’t fan quite as well and they are slightly better with some doubling techniques.

Fanning: OOB: 9.5
1st Week: TBD
2nd Week: TBD
3rd Week: TBD
4th Week: TBD
I don’t know if it is the different finish used or the characteristics of the traditional cut but these don’t fan quite as beautifully as the Bee Aristocrats.

Spring Energy: OOB: 6.5
1st Week: TBD
2nd Week: TBD
3rd Week: TBD
4th Week: TBD
These flex about as easily as most Bees.

Dribble: OOB: 9.5
1st Week: TBD
2nd Week: TBD
3rd Week: TBD
4th Week: TBD
Another deck that should serve you folks well if you are on thye quest for a nice ling Anaconda flourish.

Crimp Hold/Recovery: OOB: 8
1st Week: TBD
2nd Week: TBD
3rd Week: TBD
4th Week: TBD
Above average crimp and hold recovery.

Single Card Glides: OOB: 7
1st Week: TBD
2nd Week: TBD
3rd Week: TBD
4th Week: TBD
Almost imperceptible from the performance you will get out of a Bike.

2+ Card Obfuscations: OOB: 7
1st Week: TBD
2nd Week: TBD
3rd Week: TBD
4th Week: TBD
These don’t feel quite as sketchy as an out of the box Aristocrat.

Gaff construction and availability: Hay it is printed on a Rider Back design…the most gaffed card in history.

XCM Flourishing: It should do well for Anacondas, long spring flourishes and various fan productions but like other high quality Bees it probably isn’t a top choice for folks with a real powerful style.

Who Should Buy?: Any one wanting to try out a traditionally cut card, people who like the feel of Bees but want to do more gaff card work, and anyone who does gambling demos.

Who should not buy: Folks with a real powerful magic or flourishing style.

Final thoughts:

What the Masters Edition UV500 brought to the Riderback for people who had a more powerful style of card magic and flourishing, these bring the same to those with a smooth style of card magic. What is nice about both the Masters and the Gold Seals is that weather you prefer a stiffer/ thicker card or a softer/ thinner card, both are printed with higher quality standards using higher quality presses than standard Bicycle 808s. These are also good decks(both the Gold seals and the Masters) for “Red Backed Bike Nazis” to have an opportunity to try out what a high quality deck feels like. It is no secret to my readers that I am a Bee fan so I expect I will enjoy this review and I am also interested in trying out this traditional cut. So far the only thing I have really noticed about it is that it faros easier in the opposite direction but we will see how it effects the cards performance in the long run. My first impression is that this one definitely deserves its gold seal.

[haroldross]

I love these cards!

The traditional cut makes them well worth the price. The cut on the normal Bikes has gotten to be pretty bad, almost like they are using dull blades.

I have used mine quite a bit and they are still working well for me. I tend to be not very rough with my cards, I rotate through my various decks so they don't seem to wear out very soon.