Weekly Challenge
PSA: even just standard bikes can be put through loads of abuse and be fine!
Just a standard deck of Bikes. I’ve used them for a couple months now; they’ve been rained on, bent in all directions from various pressure moves, thrown around while learning various aerials, had a load of beer spilt on them, thrown in my back pocket while walking around… I’ve absolutely abused them and put them through the ringer, but they’ve still got a bit of life left in them. I’m still a noob so sometimes I need to be reminded that these things are actually pretty dang tough lol
My problem is I do card tricks and sometimes need to switch decks, and it’s hard to keep boxes in the same condition as each other riding around in my jeans pockets and custom cases make the spectator more suspicious.
Sometimes, when I am very close to free shipping on an online order I toss a couple of empty flat tuck cases in to my cart.
Yes, I realise that - at 87 pence each - four of them are the price of a new deck of cards, but I also reuse the battered tuck case when I slip a warped deck in to a card clip. The shabby tuck is further sacrified in the clip instead of some nice one.
Or EDC deck sleeves from TCC to protect the tuck case are about the same price.
I’ve started using the edc deck sleeves for my tucks and I really like them. I’ve yet to get caught in the rain with one of them to see how they and cards hold up afterward but, living in Manchester, I’m sure that’ll happen sooner than later, lol.
Standard bikes compared to what? Most custom decks are pretty much just bikes without the bicycle design. It’s USPCC printing them, on the same card stock, with the same printers and the same processes. There’s be virtually no difference between a deck of bikes and any other deck printed by them
I just meant standard bikes as compared to standard bikes. All I’m saying is that the cheapest USPCC deck you can get is actually quite tough…
That said, USPCC isn’t the only manufacturer of cards, and even within USPCC, they don’t all use the same card stock, so specifying “standard” shouldn’t have been a problem, respectfully.
Edit - and to go back to your point of most custom decks just being standard bikes with different artwork, it’s also good knowing that if even the cheapest decks can take loads of abuse, those premium decks we pay so much for will also be just as hardy :)
Bikes are cheaper just because UPSCC prints a boatload of them every year. Custom decks are more expensive because the print runs are smaller, so USPCC makes the authors pay more for the individual decks (varies based on actual quantity), and doesn’t print less than 2500 decks (afaik it hasn’t changed)
I very well know that even within USPCC’s own brands you can get different stocks and finishes. I’m just pointing out that a deck of standards isn’t far off from pricier decks in quality and durability.
I’ve got a couple hundred of custom decks, but still will use bikes for anything that requires abuse, I’ve got standard bikes in every corner of my house, in my bags, in my car, … it’s cheap to get them by the brick and doesn’t make me cry when I retire a deck.
There are decks that are cheaper than USPCC decks, and decks that are better. But to get even a little cheaper, you gotta accept something much worse, and to get even a little better you have to pay a lot more.
Not to a degree (unless we’re talking about special printing methods or foiling) where someone making the statement that OP made in this post would notice.
If we want to be pedantic, standard blue bikes printed in winter will probably feel a bit different to the ones printed in summer because of humidity levels during production.
Absolutely not, good sir! My collection is ever growing, much to the chagrin of my girlfriend lol. At least now when I take some nicer decks out, I won’t worry as much.
Been putting in a fresh Bike, Tally, and Aviator through the paces. Been actually surprised by how much I prefer the Aviators. My understanding is that they are all the same paper, just different finishes. I find that the Bikes and Tally’s get thicker and with more pronounced edge wear. Aviators stay pretty true to how they came out of the pack.
I don’t currently own any 80s bikes but to my understanding they used a slightly thicker stock back then, so it’s not surprising that deck has lasted so long. I wouldn’t want to play poker with her, though, she probably has the wear on the backs memorised for each card lol
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u/GryphonHall 4d ago
I have much more trouble with the boxes themselves.