Raith Rocket Review: A Lightweight Electric Skateboard With Genuine Innovation

Introduction

The Raith Rocket has become one of the go-to electric skateboards for everyday use. Made by the company that set the world record for the fastest electric skateboard, the Rocket is the lower-specced, consumer-friendly version of their record-setting board. What makes this board stand out are its unique remote controller, its tiny direct drive motors, and its weight of just 7 kg.

This review covers those standout features first, then moves on to the specs and performance, and finishes with who this board is for and who it is not for.

The Knuckleduster Remote

The remote, which Raith calls the knuckleduster, is the most unique remote seen on an electric skateboard. The way it is designed allows for the use of longboard gloves with slide pucks. But this design also adds a lot of convenience because it frees up your hand to hold other things while the remote remains on your hand.

There are several everyday situations where this becomes useful. If you pick up your board with your right hand, you can do so without having to remove the remote. If you are getting a drink at a convenience store, you can grab the drink while the remote is still on your hand. If you are fiddling with a selfie stick, camera, or phone, the remote does not get in the way. It is a small but not insignificant feature, kind of like keyless entry for a car. You do not need it, but it makes your life more convenient.

Convenience was not even the original intent for this design. The founder of Raith is a downhill skater, so it makes sense that he would want a remote that is compatible with slide pucks. Attempts to do glove-down slides with this knuckleduster remote were made, though unsuccessfully.

This remote does have some downsides compared to most other e-board remotes available today. Even though the guts of the remote is a Flipsky VX1, there is no display to show basic info like speed and odometer. When you do need to put the remote away, it is quite bulky and may not fit well in a pant pocket. And the control wheel on this remote came off on one of the first few rides and had to be glued back on. It was a very easy fix, but it is worth noting because this has never happened with other remotes.

Compact Direct Drive Motors

Raith’s electric skateboards use direct drive motors. It is not a new concept, but these are the most compact and discreet direct drive motors seen on an electric skateboard. Aside from the size, there are other major differences. The stator inside each motor is exposed, which according to the founder of Raith, is to promote cooling.

The obvious concern here is that dust and debris may eventually get inside and cause problems, but there has not been an issue so far. And even if something like a small pebble does get inside, the rotor can be removed quite easily so you can clear out whatever gets in.

Compared to other direct drive boards, swapping the drive wheels on this board is not nearly as convenient. On other boards, you normally just take off the axle nut and pull off the wheel. But on the Raith Rocket, after you take off the axle nut, you need to remove the wheel and the rotor together. Once they are removed, you then need to unscrew five screws that hold a plate on the outside of the core before you can detach the wheel. Some of this complexity is to maintain wheel balance. It is tedious enough that changing wheels will not happen very often. The stock wheels are actually fantastic, so it is easy to stick with them.

Design and Build Quality

There are things to love about how this board looks, but there are also parts that look kind of makeshift compared to most other production boards. The deck is quite unique in how it was manufactured. It is a laminated bamboo and fiberglass block that is then CNC-machined. The advantage to this is mostly aesthetic, but it does look very nice.

Too many e-skate brands lately are going for that dystopian cyberpunk look. If you have a room dedicated to gaming with RGB lights, then that cyberpunk look may suit you. But if you like the look of natural materials, or a more minimalist and zen look, the Raith Rocket fits very well and can double as home decor when you are not riding.

While the overall look is appealing, some parts look a bit rough up close. Raith is sending over longer cable sleeves to hide the wires. If you care about aesthetics, both tips of the kicktail have chipped off within the first few rides. The board also uses clear griptape, which can show visible air pockets from any dust or imperfection on the deck before applying. It does not look terrible, but it does not look at all like what you see on the website.

Weight and Portability

The weight of an electric skateboard heavily affects its portability. For context, the weight of a non-electric complete longboard is normally around 3 to 4 kg, or 7 to 9 pounds. They are very easy to pick up and bring with you in and out of buildings, up and down stairs, on and off public transit. This level of portability is the major advantage of the skateboard form factor compared to most other types of vehicles.

This advantage applies to electric skateboards as well. But because there is such a huge variance in weight for e-boards, anywhere from around 5 kg to over 20, some boards are way more portable than others. The Raith Rocket is just 7 kg, which by today’s standard is very lightweight for an electric skateboard.

Because of its light weight, it is now one of the boards used most frequently. Many heavier boards have advantages like better comfort, better range, and better off-roading capability. But honestly, they hardly ever get used because when comfort or range or off-road capability is needed, the electric skateboard is not the type of vehicle that would be chosen. An electric skateboard is just not the ideal tool for certain scenarios, no matter how much battery or suspension or how many inches of tire you cram onto them. But few other motor vehicles can compete with a compact and lightweight e-board in portability. This extreme portability is the superpower of the skateboard form factor, and you get it with a board like the Raith Rocket.

Specs and Performance

The deck length is about 31 inches or 780 mm. The width at the widest point is about 9.5 inches or 240 mm. The concave is flat in the middle and curves up quite aggressively at the sides. The axle to axle wheelbase is just under 23 inches or about 580 mm. Compared to most popular electric shortboards, the Raith Rocket is similar in size but has a noticeably longer wheelbase. When riding, it feels a little larger because of the mostly flat concave. It is a stiff unibody cruiser deck with the battery and ESC hidden inside.

The front truck is a 180 mm Paris V3 with a 50-degree baseplate. The rear truck is Raith’s own truck to accommodate the direct drive motors, with a 42-degree baseplate for more stability. All four of the stock bushings are 88 Wheel Co’s 90A Gummies. Three of the four bushings use cup washers. The rear boardside uses no washer. The stock setup felt loose in the back, so the rear boardside bushing was changed to a 95A, also from 88 Wheels.

The stock wheels are the Maveric Pros from 88 Wheel Co. They are 80 mm in diameter with a very wide 66 mm contact patch. The durometer is a soft and grippy 74A. Even with the very soft durometer, the urethane on these wheels does not have a tendency to fall apart. 80 mm for an e-board wheel is considered quite small, but because of the wide contact patch and soft urethane, these wheels are more than adequate for everyday use. If you are used to larger wheels, it is suggested that you at least spend some time on these before trying something else. If you still decide to use larger wheels, you will have to use risers. The stock setup can already get wheelbite when making sharp turns at low speeds. This was addressed by tightening the trucks a little more than usual. Wheelbite at low speeds is a somewhat common thing on top-mount boards like this one. Raith did mention that the deck will have wheel wells in the future.

The battery is a 148Wh LiPo in an 8S1P configuration. That is relatively small by today’s standard, but the range was surprisingly good. The board comes with a 5A charger which charges the board from near-empty to full in about 1 hour. When charging is finished, the charger beeps loudly to remind you to unplug the cable. The charger is relatively small and has a cooling fan, but it is not loud at all.

The ESC is a Flipsky V4 without a Bluetooth module. The motors are sensorless but they use HFI for sensorless start. Sensorless motors are extremely rare on electric skateboards. When the motors are sensorless and use HFI, they behave sort of like sensored motors and let you accelerate from zero. It is a workaround so that you do not have to push before you throttle up. When you throttle up from a standstill, there is a high pitch noise for a few seconds until you pick up speed. And if you go from zero straight to full throttle, the motors kind of stutter a bit like they are struggling before they accelerate smoothly. When tried on an incline, the motors just kept on stuttering and would not accelerate. This also happened on level ground when the battery was low.

The board has smart reverse. When you pull the throttle back at a full stop, the board very slowly moves backward. There is no standby mode, but the board turns on just by pushing it, so you do not have to bend over.

For those living in very cold climates, there is a quirk or a feature to be aware of. At 5-degree Celsius or below, the board will beep loudly to warn you not to ride or charge the battery if you try to do either. And at 0 degree Celsius, the board will not let you accelerate.

Range and Speed

A range test was done twice on this board, and both times the results were better than expected. In the first test, the rider was about 75 kg with gear and rode in 7-degree Celsius weather. The expectation was to get a little under 14 km, but the result was 16.6 km. The riding was a little slow because of city traffic, so a second test was done a few days later. This time the ride was in 14-degree Celsius weather and away from the city center. Riding at top speed at least half the time, the result was 14.7 km, which was still better than expected for this board’s specs. In both tests, the measurement stopped when the board’s acceleration became significantly slower than pushing. Charging the board back to full took about 60 minutes both times.

The acceleration is ok, not slow, but not very quick either compared to many boards nowadays. This is one of the few boards tried in recent years where you can comfortably go from zero to top speed at full throttle. If you are lighter, then it should feel a little faster. If you are heavier, then slower.

The top speed is one of the lowest out of all the boards covered. The website claims 40 km/h, but the tested result was only 33 km/h. Multiple tests at full battery showed that was the highest speed achieved. At about 50 percent battery, the top speed dropped to about 30 km/h. And it gradually went down as the battery was depleted.

The 33 km/h speed is personally acceptable. On a shortboard, it is rare to go faster than that anyway. And in the city, speeds are normally around 25 or even lower, depending on traffic and how much protection is worn. For context, when you are just cruising and chilling on a regular longboard or cruiser, your speed would be well under 20. So if you are just looking for that type of experience, minus having to push, this board has more than enough speed. But on the other hand, not many e-boards today have a top speed of less than 40 km/h.

The brakes for the most part felt on par with other boards that have decent brakes. Slowing down from a high speed felt perfectly fine. At very low speeds, however, the brakes felt weak, like almost nonexistent. This is probably something that can be tweaked if you mess around in VESC Tool. But for most people, just be ready to put your foot down to stop if you are riding in very slow stop-and-go traffic.

Who This Board Is For

The Raith Rocket is for people who want not just a lightweight e-board for their everyday short-distance rides, but a board that has the look and feel of a traditional cruiser. The problem with many lightweight boards today is that they are just cheaply made counterparts of heavier boards with zero innovation, oftentimes using previous-gen components.

The Raith Rocket, however, has a number of things not seen before from other boards. The remote design allowing you to use slide pucks or hold other stuff is a meaningful quality-of-life feature. The compact direct drive motors are not only discreet but also highly efficient. And the CNC-machined, unibody bamboo deck is quite attractive, though imperfect.

Very few brands are innovating. And the rest are just copying, or making giant boards that, to anyone who is not an enthusiast, cannot compete with e-bikes. So it is refreshing to see a board like the Raith Rocket where there is actually something new and useful on a lightweight electric skateboard.

Buying Advice

This board may be out of budget for many people. At $1299, it is clearly for a demographic that is not very price-sensitive, people who do not mind spending more for its unique features and can overlook its modest performance. It was obviously not made for the occasional 50 km group ride, but for the everyday stuff that could benefit from using this kind of portable transportation.

The worst deal is getting a board that just ends up collecting dust, which is what happens to most boards. But this board, being lightweight, convenient, and attractive, is very much the kind of board that would be used regularly and get your money’s worth.

Conclusion

The Raith Rocket stands out in a market where very few brands are innovating. Its knuckleduster remote, compact direct drive motors, and 7 kg weight make it a genuinely unique lightweight electric skateboard. While the top speed is modest and the price is high, the portability and everyday convenience make it a compelling choice for riders who want a board that fits seamlessly into daily life.