Since I'm a senior now and I get out of school at half past noon, I decided to drive to the Magic Apple at the start of school and clean out their supply of Aladdins. I discovered that they had Bicycle Vintage Fan Backs as well, however, and I cleaned them out on those as well. I know DavidMisner already posted a review on these, but I had to drive some of my own personal thoughts home. After breaking them in (i.e. sending them through hell and back), shoving them into a Porper for three hours, and handling again...
Box: Different from a normal Bicycle Rider Back in half the back design appears on the front along with the name. Also, the box itself is grey instead of white, and an explanation of the Vintage Series along with the history of the New Fan Backs is on the back. It's a nice change from normal Bikes. 5/5
Ace of Spades: It's a big, elaborate Bicycle AoS, with bicycle spokes around the giant Ace in the center and some nice scroll writing above and below it. But the ace itself looks exactly the same, besides the size. 4/5
Jokers: Identical standard Bicycle Jokers (no guarantee on one of them), but what I really liked was the inclusion of two blank cards instead of ad cards. Nice gaffs that could be thrown in as a surprise. 5/5
Card Faces / Court Cards: Standard face and court cards, save the AoS I mentioned earlier. 3/5
Card Back Design: ...I CANNOT STOP STARING. If decks were paintings, then this would be like the ceiling on the Sistine Chapel. The back design is almost beyond words - there are flowers and a bike on each fan, and vines weave in and out of the fans and a spade-shaped fence. You really have to take a look yourself just to appreciate how amazingly artistic this back design is. 6/5 (yes, it's that good.)
Stock: It's supposed to be the same as regular bikes, but it seems that they are thicker. But it's thicker in a good way - barely noticeable unless you are a freak about something like that, like I am. Maybe I'm just being paranoid... 4/5
Fanning/Finish: If you know what a standard Bicycle Rider Back deck handles like, imagine that and just a hair nicer. Maybe because there's less ink on the backs - the fans on the back are mostly white. 8/10
Magic: I took these back to school for some reactions, and a group of girls just snatched them out of my hands to look at the backs. They handle like regular Bikes (probably because they are) and attract more initial attention. 10/10
Cardistry: Again, look at the above. 8/10
Durability: I REALLY give my cards a workout when I break them in before Porperizing them. This deck seems pretty good to me - it fans and handles better than a blue-backed Bike I just put through the same routine. But I might tweak this after a while - say, a week - if my opinion changes. 7/10
TOTAL: 60 / 70 = 86%
I got these for the back design, which I found myself drooling over when I first saw them in Jordan Lapping's "Repro Retro" video. But after I got them, they seem like they were really worth more than the $3.65 I got them for. A step up for the Bicycle logo - I think I just found a new favorite deck over the Ghosts and standard Tally-Hos.
Box: Different from a normal Bicycle Rider Back in half the back design appears on the front along with the name. Also, the box itself is grey instead of white, and an explanation of the Vintage Series along with the history of the New Fan Backs is on the back. It's a nice change from normal Bikes. 5/5
Ace of Spades: It's a big, elaborate Bicycle AoS, with bicycle spokes around the giant Ace in the center and some nice scroll writing above and below it. But the ace itself looks exactly the same, besides the size. 4/5
Jokers: Identical standard Bicycle Jokers (no guarantee on one of them), but what I really liked was the inclusion of two blank cards instead of ad cards. Nice gaffs that could be thrown in as a surprise. 5/5
Card Faces / Court Cards: Standard face and court cards, save the AoS I mentioned earlier. 3/5
Card Back Design: ...I CANNOT STOP STARING. If decks were paintings, then this would be like the ceiling on the Sistine Chapel. The back design is almost beyond words - there are flowers and a bike on each fan, and vines weave in and out of the fans and a spade-shaped fence. You really have to take a look yourself just to appreciate how amazingly artistic this back design is. 6/5 (yes, it's that good.)
Stock: It's supposed to be the same as regular bikes, but it seems that they are thicker. But it's thicker in a good way - barely noticeable unless you are a freak about something like that, like I am. Maybe I'm just being paranoid... 4/5
Fanning/Finish: If you know what a standard Bicycle Rider Back deck handles like, imagine that and just a hair nicer. Maybe because there's less ink on the backs - the fans on the back are mostly white. 8/10
Magic: I took these back to school for some reactions, and a group of girls just snatched them out of my hands to look at the backs. They handle like regular Bikes (probably because they are) and attract more initial attention. 10/10
Cardistry: Again, look at the above. 8/10
Durability: I REALLY give my cards a workout when I break them in before Porperizing them. This deck seems pretty good to me - it fans and handles better than a blue-backed Bike I just put through the same routine. But I might tweak this after a while - say, a week - if my opinion changes. 7/10
TOTAL: 60 / 70 = 86%
I got these for the back design, which I found myself drooling over when I first saw them in Jordan Lapping's "Repro Retro" video. But after I got them, they seem like they were really worth more than the $3.65 I got them for. A step up for the Bicycle logo - I think I just found a new favorite deck over the Ghosts and standard Tally-Hos.
