Bicycle Playing Cards (Including Fashion Colors)

[Lyle Borders]

Bicycle (Red, Blue, Black, Green, and all sorts of Fashion Colors.)



Overall - 5/10
Stock - 5/10
Finish - 5/10 (Airflow)
Durability - 5/10
Design - 5/10 (Fashion colors can be a HUGE plus though for the right times)
Magic - 5/10
XCM - 5/10

Anyone who has ever played racing games on a video game console knows that there will always be a vehicle you can select that is balanced in ALL stats. Nothing exceptional, but nothing wrong either. This is Bicycle in the playing card world. They are the standard. The all around good card. We all have used them, and if they are still your favorites, you either are just someone who loves good old traditional cards, or you are someone who has never tried other cards.

Bikes have a fairly standard card stock, with the Airflow finish we are all used to. They are ideal for most every feat in card magic and XCM. There is great room for improvement though. The card stock is surpassed by many other cards, some thicker, some thinner. The airflow finish, while nice, is not top of the line. These cards will preform great out of the box, but will die with a few hours of hard handling. Many magicians can go through a deck or more in a day if they are working hard, even more if weather conditions are not right or the deck is not taken care of. Bicycle cards are (with the exception of the faces of some fashion colors) white bordered, which is pretty much a prerequisite for magic. The design is classic and tend to lead people to trust the deck as normal, even though there are more gaffs and gimmicks available in Bicycle format than ANY other.

If you are unsure which deck to start off with, grab a Bike or two. They will work well enough to get you started, and will serve you until you decide to explore other options out there.

[civicracer]

This is the worst and most innaccurate review I have ever seen.

Its stats should look more like this

Overall - 8/10
Stock - 10/10
Finish -8/10 (Airflow)
Durability - 8/10
Design - 7/10 (Fashion colors can be a HUGE plus though for the right times)
Magic - 10/10
XCM - n/a

The bicycle deck is the most perfect and valuable deck on the planet.

[eostresh]

Originally Posted by civicracer

This is the worst and most innaccurate review I have ever seen.

Its stats should look more like this

Overall - 8/10
Stock - 10/10
Finish -8/10 (Airflow)
Durability - 8/10
Design - 7/10 (Fashion colors can be a HUGE plus though for the right times)
Magic - 10/10
XCM - n/a

The bicycle deck is the most perfect and valuable deck on the planet.

Lyle sets the Bike 808 as a baseline on his reviews. As such he gives them 5s arbitrarily so that you can gage his other reviews off of. Thus if he gives something a 6 it is a tad better than a Bike if he gives something a 4 it is a tad worse than a bike.

The finish on an 808 is an "Air Cushion" not an "Air Flow"(I personally can't tell the difference but we might as well call it what USPCC calls it.)

I set bikes as my baseline on my reviews as well. Though I give them 7s with the exception of the fan that I give a 9.

Finally, no offence but if you think the stock on an 808 is a 10/10.....well let's just say you may want to try out a few more cards. A whole new world of durability and playability awaits you! If you rate 808s that highly you will never be disappointed in a playing card again!(unless you get some Massas)

Cheers,
welcome BTW

[civicracer]

Originally Posted by eostresh

Lyle sets the Bike 808 as a baseline on his reviews. As such he gives them 5s arbitrarily so that you can gage his other reviews off of. Thus if he gives something a 6 it is a tad better than a Bike if he gives something a 4 it is a tad worse than a bike.

The finish on an 808 is an "Air Cushion" not an "Air Flow"(I personally can't tell the difference but we might as well call it what USPCC calls it.)

I set bikes as my baseline on my reviews as well. Though I give them 7s with the exception of the fan that I give a 9.

Finally, no offence but if you think the stock on an 808 is a 10/10.....well let's just say you may want to try out a few more cards. A whole new world of durability and playability awaits you! If you rate 808s that highly you will never be disappointed in a playing card again!(unless you get some Massas)

Cheers,
welcome BTW

Bicycle stock is the best. Its the best playing cards around. Its a fact. I handled all a lot of the fad cards around and I came to that conclusion. They spring loud and you can pressure fan and lepaul spread them forever. They dont dent when you shoot them in the air either. As for the finish I dont really care what I call it because uspcc lies about finish sometimes anyways (new hoyles).

Its unfortunate that bicycles are getting underrated to "basic" and "standard" when the real standard culprit are really Maverick hoyle playing cards and Ace playing cards.
Well as long as it has borders Im cool because all cards react the same when I handle them

[eostresh]

Well I would respectfully disagree. I find the Crimp Hold and Recovery on the 808 is just about average. Been a while since I have tried a Hoyle stock but among other USPCC stocks their are many stocks that seem to hold out better. Arrco, Tally Hos, and especially the stock on the UV500s or the Steamboats(RIP). The snap seems to last longer and so do the decks. Some not by much but but you can tell the difference if you pay attention. And no offence but it is not just me saying it. I am only one of dozens of people who have reviewed Tallys and Arrcos and I have yet to find one review of those cards that claims the 808 is the better card. Even the Bee stock, though it is a much softer stock than the 808, seems to last a bit longer. (Admittedly humid weather will reek havoc on the Aristocrat stock so if you live in a humid place I'd recommend 808s over Bees)

These are just examples of superior USPCC stocks. USPCC stocks in general are much weaker than either Fournier or Anglo brands. Both have stiff, springy, durable stocks that will last a good long time. I don't necessarily recommend these cards for anyone. They tend not to fan as well as the USPCC cards and you would have to have some monstrously strong hand to pull off a LePaul spread but for those into learning multi-packet cuts(Sybils and Molecule type cuts) these two brands are hard to beat. The stiffer stock is also nice for many "modern" card sleights. Clip shifts, Diving Board Doubles, Venus Traps, Floop moves, One Handed Pop-outs, and other high end modern card moves are all a bit easier to learn on Anglos and Fourniers.

I'm certainly not trying to say that the Bike 808 is a bad card. But setting them as a baseline average to compare other cards off of is justified. I use them as such, Mr. Borders uses them as such, and just about every other respected card reviewer uses them as such. I think even if you asked a representative of USPCC, "what's your best stock?" they would point to the UV500 or the Aristocrat depending on what you are looking for, fanning or durability.

If 808s are a personal favorite I won't argue with that. That is your choice and I'm sure it suits you as a performer. I'm just saying that it is justified to set Bikes as a baseline for a review. Their are lots of cards with stronger stocks, lots of cards with weaker stocks, but everyone knows the 808. So by giving it a 5, or a 7 in my case, review readers will have an immediate understanding of what you mean if you rate a stock. They will know if the stock is stronger or weaker than a bike. Now whether stronger and weaker is good for you depends on your style. I just reviewed the v.4s and the Aristocrats, both with weaker stocks than an 808. Many people who have a light touch with cards will likely prefer these cards to the 808 even though they get a lower score in that area. Basically I am saying that it is not necessarily a better than worse than thing....it's a more than less than thing. I'll offer my personal opinions in my reviews and you may not agree with those, but the key is that my scores stay consistent. Thus, you should be able to figure out what scores characteristics you like in a card and you can judge from that what cards you may want to drop money on.

[exar]

I personnaly use mainly 808 decks. I find them suitable for all I do.
Anyway, I also have Copag plastic decks, but I less use them, because they are not effective for all the techniques, since they are a little too flexible.
For training, I use very low cost poker cards as I damage them very quickly...

[haroldross]

Has anyone noticed the drop in quality of the Bicycle cards?

I opened up one of the new decks to break-in and the edge quality (the cut) was pretty rough. When I inserted one of my gaff cards, you could clearly see the difference. I put the cards aside and took out one of my Bee decks.

[Alex Hess]

Harold,

Was that one of the new Mandolin decks?

[haroldross]

No, just one of the red-backed 808's from Walmart. The deck was manufactured in Erlanger, Kentucky according to the Joker.

[Sam Hindrichs]

Originally Posted by haroldross

Has anyone noticed the drop in quality of the Bicycle cards?

I opened up one of the new decks to break-in and the edge quality (the cut) was pretty rough. When I inserted one of my gaff cards, you could clearly see the difference. I put the cards aside and took out one of my Bee decks.

I have heard that the run of Bikes that are out on the market right now are still the "first batch" of Bikes from the new factory. I have heard that quality control has been upped for future runs of them because of the poor quality of the first run on the new press.

Harold, I don't know if you have thought about it but go check out Toys 'R' Us for Cincinnati Bikes. I went to one of the Toys 'R' Us near me and they had probably 30 decks of them on a couple different racks. Granted they were a little more expensive ($3.49) but for the old style box and better quality I think it would be worth it. Who knows, they might even cut you a deal if you go in there and clear out their old inventory of Bikes.

[Liderc]

I'll take a Tally over a Bicycle anyday, as far as non 'custom' cards go Tally's are superior

[Sam Hindrichs]

Originally Posted by Liderc

I'll take a Tally over a Bicycle anyday, as far as non 'custom' cards go Tally's are superior

I can get Bikes any day I need them with no trouble for a super cheap price (2 decks for $2). I like being able to have the cards I use available when and if I need them. I do wish Wal-Mart sold Aladdins though.

[Liderc]

Indeed Bicycle's are highly available, and some places have good prices.

i too wish that other cards were as available

[haroldross]

I do hope the quality improves, I wonder how long before the later runs hit the stores.

For now I'll use mostly Bee decks and the Richard Turner Bycycles. I only have a few of the new Bikes that were given to me as gifts.

[Liderc]

well that's another thing, the quality of the new bicycles has gone extremely far down...