Don't buy the new standard bikes

[MagicLemonBird]

Oh my goodness I'm so disappointed in Bicycle and there new design. I'm not sure when they updated it but I just bought myself a brick at Costco yesterday and they've made some significant (for the worse) changes.

The.......

Pips and smaller

Ink isn't bold

Face cards are smaller

AND worst of all the air cushion finish

Now you might be like "what??? i just handled a deck of bikes yesterday!?"
Yeah well I bought a pack in California and they handled the "old way". But here in New Jersey I bought the brick and it was severely downgraded. I'm guessing that these new ones are circulating around slowly. But here's the good news, the bicycle staff said that they were going to print the old design.

But honestly still disappointing
The finish feels A LOT thinner. I can't even giant fan the deck vertically, I have the fan them horizontally. That's a big problem, definitely the downside. Though I'm not sure if it was the heat during shipment, cause usually as I've experienced if a deck is out too long in the moist heat like this month then they will warp and the finish will actually thin. But the weird thing is that when I opened them fresh out of the box they weren't warped....

The pips are smaller, but I'm not really complaining on that. They make the deck much more "modern". It's hard to describe but I actually like the narrower pips.

One thing I don't like is the size of the facecards. For some reason It looks like the faces are more vibrant, but they are a little smaller from the original cards.

LOL and yesterday was the first day that I decided to buy a brick of bicycles. Oh well, we'll see how they do after I place them in the controlled temperature of my basement.

 

[magicpowder]

LOL dude their just cards...

Yeah of course theres a certain "feel" to them but they cant be SO drastic that it would make me not buy them. Cards dont make you better or limit what you can or cannot do.

Maybe its just that deck? did you check another?

Edit: I actually have a new deck of bikes that I just got maybe a few days ago. I'v been messing with them for the past day or so and I haven't really noticed a thing...

 

[TheatreHead]

LOL dude their just cards...

Yeah of course theres a certain "feel" to them but they cant be SO drastic that it would make me not buy them. Cards dont make you better or limit what you can or cannot do.

Maybe its just that deck? did you check another?

it's true that they don't limit what you do, but I'd rather perform using a deck of Arrcos than a $2 bridge sized deck from a gift shop. I'm able to do all the same moves with a crap deck, I'd just prefer to have a higher quality deck.

Cardistry, Flourishing and XCM is somewhat a different story, but I specialise in two handed cuts, so I couldn't care less about how cards fan. But even then, I'd rather be using Tally-hos then a $2 bridge sized deck from a gift shop.

 

[magicpowder]

it's true that they don't limit what you do, but I'd rather perform using a deck of Arrcos than a $2 bridge sized deck from a gift shop. I'm able to do all the same moves with a crap deck, I'd just prefer to have a higher quality deck.

Cardistry, Flourishing and XCM is somewhat a different story, but I specialise in two handed cuts, so I couldn't care less about how cards fan. But even then, I'd rather be using Tally-hos then a $2 bridge sized deck from a gift shop.

I think we all would... But, its still not a big deal on what the uspcc did to bikes.

He's just complaining on the "look" of them. Many people think Jerry's look ugly though are they good for flourishing? Yea... So who really cares about the look.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I've used a bunch of 'new' decks. They are beginning to be the dominant deck out there as the old stocks wear out. Personally I don't care about the design changes much, but I do feel like they've changed the finish. It seems more slick or something. I know that my cards are slipping out of fans a lot easier now than with the decks from a few months ago.

But either way, I'm not going to stop using bikes because of it. I just adjust my technique and everything works fine. There's no other decent deck of cards for the price in my area.

 

[MagicSanj]

I just got a new brick from Costco to try out as well. (I hardly EVER use bikes, unless we're taking vintage new fanbacks )

Anyway, I've used the deck for about a week, and a normal bicycle for about a week, and the two still feel exactly the same.

The cards are just as flimsy as they used to be. There is hardly a difference, if at all. I'm sure if I blind tested all of you, none of you could tell the difference, as I have already tried this with a few other magicians who live near me.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

It may all be in my head, but I've noticed these differences without knowing I had one of the new decks in my hands. The design is distinctly different when compared to older decks. The back color is brighter, the pips are smaller, etc. Hold up an older card and a newer one, and you'll see the differences.

The feel I'm not 100% on, but I've got fairly sensitive hands and I'm pretty sure they've changed something that makes the cards feel more slippery.

 

[saborfang17]

It may all be in my head, but I've noticed these differences without knowing I had one of the new decks in my hands. The design is distinctly different when compared to older decks. The back color is brighter, the pips are smaller, etc. Hold up an older card and a newer one, and you'll see the differences.

The feel I'm not 100% on, but I've got fairly sensitive hands and I'm pretty sure they've changed something that makes the cards feel more slippery.

I bought a few of the new ones with smaller pips, but after a few weeks (when my Costco got a new shipment, I assume), they seemed almost back to normal. Right after you've used the new bikes for about 30 minutes, they start to feel terrible.

However, if you leave them in the box for a few days than break them in (after about 20-30 mins of initial use), they feel a bit better (to me, atleast)

 

[praetoritevong]

I think we all would... But, its still not a big deal on what the uspcc did to bikes.

He's just complaining on the "look" of them. Many people think Jerry's look ugly though are they good for flourishing? Yea... So who really cares about the look.

Personally, I'd take look over feel any day. It's why I perform with the S&M. They don't feel bad at all - but it's the look that I'm after.

 

[saborfang17]

Personally, I'd take look over feel any day. It's why I perform with the S&M. They don't feel bad at all - but it's the look that I'm after.

Not to an extreme though, right? You wouldn't play with S&M's with that same paper (not stock, paper) and flimsy printer ink that made up the fake Jerry's that saturated the market 2 years ago?

 

[AsherF]

I've been using the same deck of New standard bikes for over a month now... they handle perfectly fine.

 

[oldavid1]

@Prae
Haha. I hold the same view. My audience doesn't handle the cards as much as me, but they DO see the cards the whole time I perform with them. The visuals are so much more important to me. Give me a beautiful deck of cardboard please.

 

[JDENredden]

I dont notice any difference. I like the new box design. The front looks very good in my opinion. They just need to replace the back with the rider back design.

All these cosmetic changes you say, I have not noticed these at all. In fact they dont exist on any of the Standard decks I own.

J.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I dont notice any difference. I like the new box design. The front looks very good in my opinion. They just need to replace the back with the rider back design.

All these cosmetic changes you say, I have not noticed these at all. In fact they dont exist on any of the Standard decks I own.

J.

If you're referring to the standard face, then maybe the new ones just haven't made it to you yet. There is definitely a difference if you can compare the two. Lots of people have noticed it, but it's pretty difficult to see if you're not comparing the two right next to each other.

I can't stand the new box design with the blue ace. I really preferred the black ace. And the back just bugs me. I would be happy if they didn't change anything about the cards, but put the case back the way it was before. Well, not that I'm necessarily unhappy now, I just preferred the old design.

 

[Bill Charlton]

I think the new Rider Backs are fine at times , they are just softer.USPCC shouldn't have dumped tried and tested methods of making the deck.

 

[JDENredden]

If you're referring to the standard face, then maybe the new ones just haven't made it to you yet. There is definitely a difference if you can compare the two. Lots of people have noticed it, but it's pretty difficult to see if you're not comparing the two right next to each other.

I can't stand the new box design with the blue ace. I really preferred the black ace. And the back just bugs me. I would be happy if they didn't change anything about the cards, but put the case back the way it was before. Well, not that I'm necessarily unhappy now, I just preferred the old design.

I was comparing them side by side and didnt see a thing. Care to upload some scans?

J.

 

[Bill Charlton]

I was comparing them side by side and didnt see a thing. Care to upload some scans?

J.

If you have a S&M without a seal or the 2nd Edition of Bee Erdnase (no back design on the box), compare it with an old rider back or any Cincinnatti deck.The pips and the court card pics of the S&M without seal and 2nd Ed Erdnase is smaller.Those are the new pips.Hope that helps.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I don't have a scanner.

 

[j.bayme]

If you have a S&M without a seal or the 2nd Edition of Bee Erdnase (no back design on the box), compare it with an old rider back or any Cincinnatti deck.The pips and the court card pics of the S&M without seal and 2nd Ed Erdnase is smaller.Those are the new pips.Hope that helps.

Just to clarify, the pips on the newer Bicycle cards were in fact a bit smaller, but this has been resolved and fixed at USPCC. Decks printed from this point forward will not have those smaller pips.

 

[Bill Charlton]

Nice to hear that.Can't wait to buy the new versions of those decks.