theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
Why Do Bicycle Standards Marked 2014 Handle Better?
- Thread starter leumas1960
- Start date
No. USPC moved from Cincinatti, Ohio to the new factory in Erlanger, Kentucky in 2009. Your 2014 cards are printed in the new KY factory.
// L
A lot of it is Placebo. The other thing is that Bikes moved to a crushed stock last year (or was it 2 years ago?), which is significantly thinner. handling is all subjective, so you may have liked the thicker stock (which is a bit thinner than the Bees produced today).
The single variable that makes the biggest difference in the feeling of playing cards? Humidity. Humidity when the stock was made, humidity when the cards were printed or packaged, humidity while the cards are stored, humidity while the cards are being shipped, humidity where you store them, humidity when you use them, and moisture in your hands.
Humidity can make a deck of cards that feels like the best deck every to one person feel like the worst ever deck to another person. It is likely the main reason that we see such varied opinions on various decks.
US Playing Card is climate controlled, as is the theory11 warehouse. Humidity tends to not be a huge issue at those locations. It cam make a difference when shipping, but it can make a HUGE difference once it is in your hands. Moisture can make a brand new deck go soft and sticky in a matter of a couple minutes.
I see this ALL THE TIME - "Monarchs feel AMAZING, but Artisans feel terrible. Medallions are OK. I think that Red Monarchs come in second." There is a secret here - These decks are ALL on the same stock. The variations are mostly humidity.
If you only test one deck, your sample size is one. In statistics, this is nearly meaningless. Very few people test enough of the same deck to have a statistically significant sample size to be able to identify with any sense of confidence which decks actually consistently feel better than other decks.
If you had a newer Bike deck that didn't feel good, try another. Chances are that it will feel different still.
// L
DEFINITELY not placebo, we're talking a major difference. They slide for wayyy longer too, and I actually liked the thicker stock. I guess I could be very fooled, but I think there's an actual difference. Literally I can tell the difference in quality just from a few seconds of handling out-of-box, before even checking for the 2014 mark.
1st off, see what Lyle said. That may affect stuff.
Second off - there is no difference in the finish, so they shouldn't "slide for wayyy longer" lol
There is also the fact that as you use up a deck, the quality will become less and less, but you wont feel it because you are using it all the time. Just like how your parents and friends don't notice you grew, but people seeing you after a few months will. Thus, when you open a new pack, you are essentially comparing a new deck to a worn out one. Open a new pack of bikes and see what happens.
If this is the case, I can nearly guarantee that the difference is caused by one deck having more moisture or dirt / oil from your hands. As Maaz said, the finishes will still be identical, and the difference in stock is not anywhere large enough to cause this sort of thing.
I can blindly tell the difference between two absolutely identical print run decks, one of which I have used more than the other. How much you use a deck will change how it feels. Not dramatically, but slowly over time. Change to a new deck? That will feel dramatic. Brand new Bicycle decks are SUPER slippery. They are supposed to be. Decks you have used will be much less so.
If your hands are not clean and dry, a single use of a deck can be enough to cause it to permanently clump up. It would then forever feel much different than a brand new deck.
// L
I was actually thinking about it, I've asked them other things before and they have great PR.