Thank you both for the information.

When the Bicycle brand was first created, bicycles were a new invention, extremely popular.  Over time, "auto-bikes" (early motorcycles) and cars were the themes of many decks, as well as the wheels upon which they rolled.

These days, popularity of bicycles (and practically everything involving effort, the outdoors and no video monitor) are fairly low - sales of bicycles have been declining for several years now as Generation X, 11% smaller than the preceding generation, become the driving force in the economy, and children and juveniles have been dropping out of bicycle riding in large numbers, only some of which can be made up for by a slight uptick in commuters using bikes and bike-related businesses such as messenger services and restaurants offering delivery.

I would think this would be a good idea to bring to the bike manufacturers more so than the designers of custom decks.  They're the ones hoping to raise public awareness and usage of bicycles, particularly in urban communities particularly well-suited for bicycles as a mode of transportation, so they could seriously use the promotion.  (It also wouldn't hurt if they lowered the prices down from the high three figures and low four figures!  No bicycle should cost nearly as much as the cheapest economy car.)  But it's also a matter of raising the bar in terms of governments providing the places where bikers can ride without being forced between faster and more dangerous cars - Ex-Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York launched a huge campaign to make the city more pedestrian, bus and bike-friendly - while at the same time aggravating some drivers.  More cities should follow that lead.

I think the Bicycle brand has enough prestige as to not be shackled by the success or failure of the bicycle market. Just about any layperson would associate playing cards with the bicycle brand. I understand the heritage, I am just saying. Why have we not seen a mountain bike deck, chopper bike deck,  a trick bike, or a bicycle racing deck? Not that I am in demand these designs or have a need of them. It just seems the original inspiration is just a dead concept right now.

I've opened all my decks regardless of price. In some cases I have bought an extra deck for storage, but I am slowly moving away from that habit. It defeats the purpose to let them sit on a shelf. Much like comic books, baseball cards, action figures etc. it is just silly to buy playing cards and never even see the. If I collected as an investment my perspective may change I guess. I hope this hobby doesn't go the way of sports cards where everything is graded and sealed away with a number.  For now I just wash my hands really well and try not to be too rough on cards that I do not intend to play actual games with.

I'm 50/50 on it at the moment. I joined late in the year and while I like the information and extra features, I do agree they aren't showing up as often as I would like. It's almost like an afterthought, "Oh ya, we need to add something to Club 808"

As for the decks, I retain my 50/50 stance. While it's nice to get the savings compared to what you find these decks for on ebay or retail. I was a little disappointed that not all the decks were completely custom. Or at least had custom courts, Ace and Jokers. I really wanted the Griffin deck, beautiful design and color, but a completely standard deck outside of the tuck and back..........I may still get one, but not as pumped about it as I was in the beginning.

I do have a question, since I joined later I was wondering, are these the only decks that were produced this past year?
Espionage
Amber Stag
Speakeasy
Cigar
Griffin

Along with the decks you mentioned, they also released an 808 themed deck. That makes six total for the year. I think you bring up a good point in saying club 808 had the feeling of being an afterthought. Imagine if six decks were released with each deck completely customized with painstaking detail. That was more what I initially expected when I bought in to the club last year. Hopefully they step up to the plate in the future.

I read an interesting article a while back that i think applies to club 808. The article was talking about Google+ in comparison to Facebook and how it would not reach much higher success with its current implementation. The article went on to suggest that Google+ should roll out their systems with a certain level of exclusivity much like facebook and even gmail did in the early days; then if their content and offerings were good, people would stick around and even bring others in. This is where it overlaps club 808. It is instinctual to want something exclusive; to belong to a special club with special benefits. That is where 808 initially succeeds. But once inside, there needs to be something substantial about membership that makes me want to stick around. Maybe an extremely limited, elaborate deck of which I could only obtain one through my membership but was also not expensive would do the trick. Maybe bring in some respected artists from outside the community to design one off decks. Thinking outside the box a little more.  If I were not part of the club this year I could still have gotten the decks by paying a few bucks more on eBay, but I don't think I would have. So what is the draw?

Just a small cabinet living its second life as a card display.

I will preface this post by saying I think these cards are amazing. I appreciate their age, history and their rarity and perceive them as beautiful because of these attributes. However I have a nagging question. I look at the design on the ace of spades compared to the drawings of the court cards and can't help but notice they look like the drawings of a child. Has this got something to do with the printing style and if so why is there such a disparity between the courts and the intricately designed Ace of Spades? Were they not concerned with the art as much as they were with the function? I tend to believe the latter.

That is some next level stuff there. I hope to one day own a single deck that is half as impressive as this.

These decks are beautiful. Honestly its hard to even find photos of these backs online outside of the Vintage Backs guide. I own a couple sets of the Big Gun reprints and at one time I wished the others were reprinted as well. However, over time I have changed course and hope they aren't replicated. The appeal of having something out there so elusive is just great. Does anyone know if the Big Gun back reprint was initiated by the USPCC or a third party? Is there a special permission needed to reprint old deck backs like these?

I picked up this Blue Bicycle Club Back deck in the summer for $4.75. Unfortunately it had no tuck box, but the cards were kept in great condition over their lifetime in storage. I like the way their luster and texture is revealed by the light reflecting on these old cards. These also have what I like to call the "sleepy eyed" court cards which are a favorite of mine. I hope to learn the skills to pin a better date on them, but currently I have it dated in my notebook as early 1900s. Let me know if you think differently.