JKing Jupiter-01 All-Terrain Review

While JKing doesn't have the same presence as the top brands in the marketplace, the company is carving out a niche with e-skateboards that perform surprisingly well in their categories despite their affordable price points. The Jupiter-01 All-Terrain's best feature is its airless rubber tires, followed by a torquey, fast-enough set of dual belt-driven motors. The biggest potential issue could be its 12-mile range, making this board better for recreational play riding more than commuting long distances.

Performance Comparison

Ride Comfort

The JKing-01 All-Terrain has a relatively stiff deck that gave us confidence as we ripped over rough terrain. Made from nine layers of maple with one layer of fiberglass, it has only a little concave at the edges. While the deck isn't very flexy, our test riders noted little felt vibration underfoot — which may have more to do with the excellent honeycombed airless tires than the deck's composition.

As we tested this board, we could tell the JKing's 6-inch tires were made to ease the ride over various types of terrain. While riding, the board glides smoothly over small pavement cracks and softens the bumpiness of bigger gashes, and we give most of the credit to the unique wheels.

“The airless tires are far softer than solid PU wheels, but they aren't as cush as air-filled pneumatic tires,” our lead tester noted. “Of course, they won't strand you by going flat, so the airless trade-off might be worth it for riders in thorny, sharp-rock territory.” As for carvability, it's not as nimble as boards with smaller PU tires, but the smooth-riding tires transformed carving over imperfect pavement into moments of chill relaxation. If you struggle with rough pavement, you'll likely appreciate this JKing AT ride.

Range

JKing claims a 12-mile range for the Jupiter-01, and while we were able to meet that mileage riding laps at a cool 15mph in our range test, we could feel the battery slowing near the end. And we definitely don't expect you to get 12 miles out of this board if you're ripping around with glee (as we expect you will want to on this torquey board).

Additionally, riding on the rough terrain the Jupiter-01 is made for will drain your battery faster than smooth pavement, so boosting speed over grass while you short-cut through your local park isn't going to improve your range either.

For dedicated commuters, the 12-mile range might be a bit low to count on, but what you can count on are the cool airless rubber wheels that won't go flat when you're miles from home. In the end, JKing delivered on its range claims, and we were able to comfortably cruise around our paved test loop near Lake Tahoe for the full range, so there were no surprises there.

Braking

The two burly 1650W belt-driven motors provide great braking power, allowing the board to perform above average in our brake tests.

We perform a flat-ground brake test, measuring the distance it takes each board to come to a stop from a speed of 11-13 mph. We perform this test multiple times, and take the average of the scores to get an accurate read on the braking ability. The JKing-01 AT board was able to come to a complete stop in just 23 feet, giving it a very competitive score against other boards we tested, and providing the rider with a better chance at avoiding unexpected obstacles when offroading.

While not able to come to a complete stop in our rigorous downhill braking test, the all-terrain JKing was able to slow down to 1 mph hour on a steep 15% grade, letting our lead tester easily step off. “The braking system induced confidence,” our lead tester noted. “I felt as if I could basically go down at any speed I wanted to.”

Speed

While the JKing-01 AT isn't a horizontal rocket, its GearLab-tested top speed average of 25.5 mph is plenty fast for most riders, and it still hits above average for the group despite its slightly heavier weight and AT-oriented wheels.

In our experience, very few riders can handle rough terrain and high speeds at the same time, so the top speed won't ever limit most people. More important to how this board feels is its solid acceleration score, covering 50 feet in a you-better-lean-forward 3.86 seconds.

Great torque is one of the standout features here, too: When we zoomed off the pavement to hit a dirt trail or cruise over a grassy berm just for kicks, we appreciated the ability to goose the throttle to maintain speed over most anything in our new path.

Hills

To help out riders who live in cities and towns that don't have a nice even grade throughout, we test every electric skateboard on two hills: a relatively steep 10% grade and a much tougher 14-15% grade.

The JKing-01 All-Terrain can easily handle moderate hills with plenty of speed and is not a route we'd worry about, even with a 190-lb rider on deck. As for the steeper hill, it covered the full 580 ft in 27 seconds, cruising up at a solid 13 mph, which is nearly as fast as our top-rated boards in this metric, earning its place in the lineup.

Because going off-trail often results in more dips and inclines than are found on typical city streets and sidewalks, we also tested the JKing in more environments than we do with our street-focused boards. We were surprised and delighted by the solid power output over the short, steep rises we found on backroads, trails, and secret shortcuts that may or may not appreciate our kind of traffic.

Beginner Friendly

Our beginner friendliness testing covers overall ergonomics and riding ease, but it's also heavily focused on the remote control and the implementation of different available modes. The JKing-01 All-Terrain has a user-friendly remote control with a simple LCD screen for key data. According to JKing, the lowest of the four modes limits speed to 9 mph, but in our testing, it limited speed to a slightly slower 7 mph. At these low speeds, even our beginner testers felt confident riding the JKing-01; however, the speed cap is not the full story.

Even though the next three of four modes gradually increase top speed, our testers found that none of the modes could dampen the torque or braking power enough to earn top scores in beginner friendliness. Basically, even on the lowest mode, a beginner can hit the acceleration wheel and send the board out from under their feet. Braking is also a bit grabby for beginners. “Intermediate riders will likely adapt quickly to the controls,” noted our lead tester, who suggested that beginners “simply let off the throttle and coast to stops during the learning process.”

For some beginners, the weight of the board is important for those times they need to carry it around places they can't ride. The Jupiter-01 is about average compared to all boards, but it's a bit lighter than most all-terrain boards we weigh in our lab.

Should You Buy the JKing Jupiter-01 All-Terrain?

This all-terrain electric skateboard doesn't top the charts in any one category, but it manages to beat the average in most metrics and scores surprisingly well overall. It is a solid overall performer both on pavement and on the trail and is a surprisingly affordable contender in the all-terrain category. It boasts a top speed most riders won't want to exceed and it has brakes powerful enough to back it up. One of our favorite features is the inclusion of airless, no-flat tires, which won't leave you stranded. The board felt most competitive when carving on imperfect surfaces, tempting us to go where we might not have bothered to carve on street-focused boards. The only drawback is its mediocre range, which could limit this board's utility for commuters. If you're an experienced rider who wants to try out an all-terrain board without breaking the bank, the overall value makes it easy to recommend.

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