Bicycle 125's

May 18, 2008
807
0
Alright, these amazing cards have been waited on to come out for 125 years...

Okay, that is a BIT of an exaggeration, but whatever the wait was, it was FAR too long.



So, on wit' DAT REVIEW!

What the humans who advertise these say...
It started in Cincinnati one-hundred and twenty-five years ago and quickly grew to become the worldwide leader in playing card design and manufacturing. Since then - hundreds of designs and over a billion decks later - it is still here and still in a league of its own.

Commemorating 125 years of design and development, the Bicycle 125 : Anniversary Edition playing cards feature a distinctive, vintage aesthetic - and a signature metallic foil on the special edition tuck case. In stock today - and our current supply is limited.

And, that is an understatement.

Backstory:

Before I actually tried these cards, I a bunch of my friends were saying that they were amazing. I had looked at the ads, and seen the design. It was cool, but how much different could the stock be than ALL the other decks out there? I had just gotten some Propagandas and Centurions as well, so, at the time, I wasn't really into the whole, "New Deck" thing.

Well, I won a contest and got 6 decks of cards of my choice. I figured I would give into the pressure. I am VERY glad I did.

The Box:

Man, the pictures can't do this thing justice. The box is BEAUTIFUL. The front is a FANTASTIC foil type thing that makes it literally glimmer. It is amazingly shiny and looks very professional. I would almost buy a deck JUST for the box. It is THAT cool. In addition, they come with cool stickers that are unlike the other advertisement ones. These stickers say "125 Years" inside of a spade and it really looks elegant.

The Back Design:

The cards themselves have a fantastic look to them, being based off of the rider backs, but with a much more classical look to them. The design is REALLY nice and busy with no space left without a nice, elegant piece of art.

I would also very much like to point out that the backs of these cards are really dark (which is good). It gives them a sense of refinement; these are more of a burgundy, or a brownish than really the bright reds of a normal bicycle deck.

The Front Design:

The front design of the cards is interesting. The reds are a very deep red, and the blacks are well... black. The normal spot cards look pretty similar to the normal bicycle cards, where as the rest are all very different.

The Pips:

I should like to point out that the pips all have a little logo under them that says the years, "1885-2010". I happen to like this, but you may not.

The Court Cards:

The court cards of this deck have a very nice color scheme, similar to that of the normal ones. What makes them different is that each court card has a nice, blue border that says, "125 Anniversary Edition". This looks REALLY cool.

The Jokers:

The jokers in this deck are odd. One is based on the jokers they had in 1885, which is titled, "Best Bower" and has an old joker riding a VERY old bicycle. It looks REALLY awesome. The other joker is the same as a normal, nowadays joker, but with a logo that expresses the 125 Anniversary.

The Ace of Spades:

This Ace of Spades is incredible. It looks JUST like the ones printed back in 1885, having a VERY large profile with Lady Liberty standing in the center. It really must be seen to be appreciated.

The Overall Feel:

I will admit, I have been spoiled recently when it comes to cards. I have only been playing with the following for the past 6 months.

-Propagandas
-Centurions
-Guardians
-Split Spades
-Raiders
-Club Angel (Japan)
-Steamboats
-Magic Castle

So, yeah. No "normal" bikes. So it would be VERY surprising if a stock would surprise me, or I thought so anyway.

These did. The stock is different than ANYTHING I have ever felt. These have a nice snap, a rather thick stock, and spread SO smoothly. I, once again, am used to the spread of "nice" decks. These are still the best I have ever felt.

EVERYTHING with these is even. A baby could use one little finger and push the deck of a bed of sand and it would be a PERFECT spread. Okay, so MAYBE not. :lol: However, these are the EASIEST cards to spread. Seriously.

One other thing I should point out is the sides. MOST decks out of the box have very ROUGH sides. They feel almost like sandpaper until you shuffle. HOWEVER, these 125's sides feel SUPER smooth right out of the box. This is a NICE luxury.

Faro:

These Faro like a dream. Once again, the Propagandas Faro AMAZINGLY, and so Faro-ing isn't hard at ALL with the decks I am used to. But these 125's don't even have to be PUSHED. You touch them together and they faro. Perfectly.

Fans:

These fan SO well, and look good doing so. I personally feel that the extra writing on the pips really help give a really nice look to it. Fans are perfect.

Flourishing:

Due to the above descriptions, it should be obvious at this point that flourishing is great with these. Any cut is made easier with the fantastic stock and fluidity of these. They also stick together well, making them VERY nice for aerials.

Magic:

Really, any magic trick should be able to be done with ANY deck of cards...

...which doesn't mean that a nice stock doesn't help. :p

These cards also look INCREDIBLY professional and I highly doubt that ANYONE (Laypeople included) would suspect ANYTHING more than just a nice, elegant deck of cards. These are well suited for real world performances.

Price:

The only good, well priced cards for performances used to be normal bicycles. They were great! However they then decided to change the stock when they moved the company, and now the cards are different. They are not as good, and not as smooth.

The 125's are a PERFECT alternative. The price point is INDEED higher than the normal bikes (5 bucks for each deck individually purchased on Theory11, 3.91 a deck if bought in packs of 6 on penguin) however the quality and look of these cards makes it worth the extra dough. The next part of the review explains why I still feel these are better alternatives.

Durability:

These cards are probably THE most durable EVER.

My good friend Mark Tirone (Girspiggy) has been using the same deck of these for a LONG time. For almost 2-3 months now, he has been dropping them, stepping on them, spilling water on them. He even dropped them in milk. THEY STILL WORKED PERFECTLY AND FANNED JUST LIKE OUT OF THE BOX.

I have only had mine for about a week, but even after dropping and practicing flourishes with the same deck, they still feel RIGHT out of the box.

If you took GOOD care of them (unlike us :lol: ) they would last a LOT longer. Now, if you take into consideration THAT aspect of it, the luxury and quality pay for itself because you don't have to constantly replace decks of cards.

These cards are SERIOUSLY durable.

Overall:

I really can't recommend this deck of cards enough. I am SO glad I was pressured into getting some. You should go buy them. Now. Like, right now. This instant. Stop reading. Go put some into your cart. Input your credit Card information (post it here if you'd like :lol: ) and get some. These are the most amazing cards EVER. Don't wait.

WARNING://

As lame as it sounds, prolonged use of these cards CAN make normal bikes feel like they came straight out of a dollar store and were dropped in tar on the way home. These WILL spoil you, but they are a GREAT, cost effective alternative to Bikes.
 
May 9, 2008
603
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I just purchased 4 decks of these, and I'm tempted to purchase more after this review. I'm wondering just how limited they are though. I wish they didn't have the dates by the pips. I think that kind of detracts from the looks. Other than that it's a great deck of cards.
 

Vorezo

Elite Member
Mar 21, 2009
334
6
I wouldnt call it a thick stock, i think it has a rather thin stock.

Nice review though!
 
May 18, 2008
807
0
I just purchased 4 decks of these, and I'm tempted to purchase more after this review. I'm wondering just how limited they are though. I wish they didn't have the dates by the pips. I think that kind of detracts from the looks. Other than that it's a great deck of cards.

I actually very much like that feature as I think it looks neat in fans and definitely isn't distracting enough to take anything away from a performance. I advise picking some up.

I wouldnt call it a thick stock, i think it has a rather thin stock.

Nice review though!

I don't know... I guess it is kind of a matter of personal preference.

It might be from the comparison, because the new bikes (after changing companies) are slightly thinner than before.

Thanks, by the way!
 
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