RK ROYAL KLUDGE R87 Pro Wireless Mechanical Keyboard 75 Percent RGB

what our customer say this product:

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1. Torte Verified Buyer – 30 September 2024

   I primarily use a Wormier f87 and this is the only keyboard that’s come close to replacing that one. I love the blank caps with front LED labels vs top-cap. The keys are smooth as butter and have a classy soft clack at the bottom. They’re very fast, almost on par with reds but don’t have a bit more weight and less travel. The base is heavy and dense with insulation, part of what accounts for the awesome key clacks. The LEDs have a full spread of effects and colors to choose from. There’s also a volume knob that’s programmable and removable. The manual is a nice fold out pamphlet with large text and lots of diagrams explaining the features and programming including a full DFU mode. My only complaint is the software, or lack thereof. The RK website directs you to a VIA web-applet that’s supposed to link with your keyboard and give you some functionality. However, I can only get the keyboard to pair, and not connect. SO, any of the diagnostics or lower-level programming isn’t available on my PC. I even tried using the RK87 software, but it doesn’t recognize the keyboard at all. All in all, one of the best keyboards I own and would highly recommend to anyone who spends a lot of time clacking away.

   

2. Chargeit Verified Buyer – 14 October 2024

   This is a well-built, sleek keyboard with blank face keys. Full N-key rollover. Not a huge fan of linear switches but they work ok with this keyboard. The rgb looks ok but flows kind of quick for me. I love the inclusion of a volume knob. The double shot keycaps feel hefty and the overall construction of this keyboard is solid. Pretty good keyboard though I’m not sure I’d want to use it for gaming and I prefer more tactile switches for typing. I guess too thick for gaming, switches not great for typing.

   

3. Laura Verified Buyer – 26 February 2025

   My pros of this R87 from Royal Kludge are * QMK/VIA support * Tri-mode with wired type C/2.4Ghz and Bluetooth * 6000mAh battery * Hotswap pcb sockets * RGB for the win * Removeable rotary encoder knob that can be substituted with a switch * Compatible with Win/Mac/Android/Linux/Tablets/Gaming consoles * Pretty thick walled PBT keycaps * Gasket mount for a softer typing experience * Connection to 3 devices via Bluetooth simultaneously * TKL space saving keyboard * South facing LEDs * Great User Guide easy to read and understand * Easy to read toggle switches, magnetic housing for the 2.4G dongle and kick stand feet * RGB on the right and left sides of the case that look awesome too I know some are not fond of the front printed legend keycaps but these are the best I have seen from any other board on the market. They outshine the competition literally, bravo Royal Kludge because I love these. Critiques of the R87 would be that the stabilizers on the space bar are not great and I will be fixing that to quiet the rattling. The stabs are plate mounted and not loose at all but the lube is the issue. Then after that I will put some bits of foam in the space bar itself because it sounds pretty nasty and hollow. Not in the least bit appealing. I honestly could not find any other problems with the R87 other than the space bar and it’s stabilizer. The wireless dongle and Bluetooth worked perfectly well and connected without fuss, the lag was not noticeable using 2.4Ghz and my connection was reliable and stable. I will say I’m not a huge fan of these matcha switches but I can swap them out to switches I prefer. The matchas are not bad at all, the lube is done properly and they are not pingy but the sound profile is just not what I like. I am on the very quiet to silent team in switch preference but others may love the poppy sound. Do I recommend the Royal Kludge R87 Pro? You bet I do! 5 stars all day every day and I don’t even care that it’s plastic because it is easier to travel with.

   

4. Leo Kim Verified Buyer – 3 March 2025

   The RK Royal Kludge R87 Pro Wireless Mechanical Keyboard with Knob is currently one of my favorite mechanical keyboards. I’ve been getting many mechanical keyboards for the past six months (including keyboards with regular mechanical, magnetic, and optical switches) in a quest to find the perfect keyboard. This one is pretty close to everything I’m looking for! I’ve tried full-size, TKL, 70%, 60%, pretty much all different sizes and configurations of keyboards to find out what works best for me. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s either going to be TKL or full-size for me depending on the application. As such, this TKL RK keyboard is right up my alley! Not only does the RGB lighting on the keyboard (keys and sides of the keyboard) look great, but so does the gradient color scheme of the keycaps from white to black (top to bottom). It’s a very cool look, and it definitely stands out when compared to keyboards with just a solid color scheme. The fact that the keycaps are also side-printed makes this keyboard stand out as it’s a more unique design than the traditional top-printed keycaps. I personally really like the linear Matcha switches. They have that “thocky” sound that I really like. I thoroughly enjoy typing on this keyboard. As a matter of fact, this review is being typed with this very RK Royal Kludge R87 Pro Wireless mechanical keyboard! The switches are hot-swappable, so if the Matcha switches don’t float your boat, you can always change them out to whichever mechanical switches your heart desires! Even the knob on this keyboard is hot-swappable! This keyboard truly is extremely customizable! Another pro for this keyboard is that it’s programmable via QMK/VIA. It allows you to customize the keyboard using open-source software instead of some unknown software from an unknown company that may use its software for nefarious purposes. The icing on the cake is that this keyboard is tri-mode. You can use this keyboard wired, or wireless via Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz wireless (with included USB adapter dongle for 2.4 GHz that can be stored on the keyboard itself when not in use!). This gives you so many options regarding how to connect this keyboard to whatever devices you choose to use with it! Overall, this is an excellent TKL mechanical keyboard! I’ve been testing many mechanical keyboards as of late, and although some have not met my expectations, or I’ve discovered aspects about those keyboards I didn’t like very much, this one has been pretty much an all-around winner! It’s got the familiarity of a normal keyboard, just without the numpad, and all the great features of a fully customizable wireless mechanical keyboard. I highly recommend this keyboard.

   

5. Bront Verified Buyer – 2 April 2025

   I needed a replacement for my older name brand mechanical keyboards, and after figuring out the layout and features I wanted, this was one of the keyboards I targeted. I’m adjusting to no NumPad, but I use enough of the extra keys I didn’t want to go much smaller than a TKL, and given how often I change the volume or mute my audio I wanted a functional knob. Pros: – Flexability – Tri-mode? Check. Hot Swap Switches? Check. A knob you can remove and replace with a switch? Check. I probably don’t need wireless, but it’s nice to have, and a stock Knob would have been fine, but a removable one adds a lot of flexibility to the keyboard. And hot swappable keyboard switches mean I can make the board my own. – Solid Linier Switches – I’d only ever really used Silver linier switches, and found the overall feel, weight, and sound of the included Matcha switches was very good. Yes, I have replaced them, but the switches sounded good, and performed well, and I’m glad I can keep them around or possibly use them in another build later. I can’t say if they were amazing, but they were definitely a positive compared to other keyboards I’ve used, at least stock. – Sound and Feel – Stock, the keyboard sounds very deep without sounding too lound. It has a thocky/creamy feel, depending on your preference. It’s a little muted, but that’s possibly a good thing if you don’t want an incredibly loud keyboard. Not a lot of rattle or ping to the board and it doesn’t sound very hollow, but the board also has enough give and flex to make it a comfortable typing compared to boards with solid mounting plates or different mountings for the PCB. The plate under the keys has a flex cut, and the board has enough give that it’s comfortable to type on without feeling flexy. – Bright RGB with front shinethough keycaps – I wasn’t sure if I’d like the front shinethrough, but I find overall I love the feal of these keys and the front facing RGB lighting and plain top make the keyboard look rather sleek and sophisticated. I do have some other issues with the RGB however that I will get into later. – Via compatibility – QMK/Via support means the software experience is just fine. Via isn’t exactly premium, but it’s there, and with QMK you can possibly update the firmware to make your keyboard more custom if you wished (though I have yet to find the QMK Source code, more on that later) Unsure: – Keycaps – Not sure if this is really a con or not, but the keycaps feel smooth and maybe slightly cheap? They’ve held up to daily use so far, but I worry they may start to wear and get smoother with use. It might just be an issue with shine though keycaps though. – VIA/QMK – Coming from some vendors, this software may feel great and is open sourced. But coming from a major vendor, the software feels a little impersonal and maybe a bit lacking overall. It’s fine, and it’s powerful for mapping key presses, functions, and macros. but it’s lacking in other areas. – No idea on how to open – IF I wanted to mod the keyboard, I’m not sure if I need to unscrew hidden screws under the feat and back sticker (gross, but happens), or pry off the top case, and I’ve tried neither because I don’t want to damage the keyboard. I wouldn’t mind it being more moddable, but I also don’t need to mod mine personally, so it’s mostly a non-issue. Con: – VIA has limited RGB control – So you can’t set individual key lighting, or set the RGB to anything particularly complex, and are limited mostly by board preset options or how you set the RGB using Via. I wanted to have a Purple to Cyan gradient from top to bottom, but because of how the settings worked, I could only do Cyan to Purple. Not necessarily a huge issue, but it does limit some of the creative things you could do with lights. You also can’t control the side and accent lights from VIA, limiting you to solid colors or a few specific presets. Since those lights also don’t dim with the rest of the keyboard, it’s annoying to have to shut them off differently from all the other RGB, and no software control also adds an extra step there. – No (so far) accessible QMK source JSON file. There’s a hex firmware available, but no source firmware so you can customize the board without some work. – RGB is setup stupidly – See the attached picture, but the RGB is setup where the front left 3 keys are a different color than the rest of the row when the color pattern deals with rows. They match or are slightly further up the gradient than the top row of keys. To me, and several others I talked with, this feels like a firmware bug, but RK support has assured me this is functioning as intended, which makes absolutely no sense, and there’s no warning that it could be an issue. Note, this only works for row based color issues (Top to bottom). Column (side to side) based RGB works properly, as do solid colors. – RK support is… meh. I can’t find this keyboard on any Royal Kluge website, and I had to chase down the correct company (there are 3 Royal Kluges apparently, all related, but they deal with different regions) before I could get support trying to figure out the RGB issue. After 2 weeks of exchanging emails, then finally said “this is working as designed”. To me it felt like they got tired of me pointing out the issue, found it works the same way on their lab keyboard, and they decided “this must be how it’s intended” rather than escalating to engineers to confirm it’s not a programming bug. – Switch removal – The stock switches really don’t want to come out of the board. They feel great, but how they lock in doesn’t seem to be compatible with any switch puller I had sometimes. Some came pretty easily, and they definitely came out easier a 2nd time, but there were times I was worried about breaking the board to get them out. Maybe for someone more seasoned in keyboard it might be easier, but the other keyboard I’ve worked on the switches were super easy to remove, and the latch mechanism doesn’t look as nice as the other 2 switches I have access to. So, why am I giving this keyboard 2 stars? Because I feel duped that I was lead to believe I was experiencing a unique issue on my keyboard they were troubleshooting, spent 2 weeks working on it, asked countless questions, pictures, and didn’t seem to even understand what I was having an issue with, and then after hours of my time spent on the issue, they effectively told me “working as intended”, and doubled down on that when I questioned them, while they also were unwilling to provide me with the raw JSON firmware file so I could just check the QMK settings myself and/or fix it. I feel like they were stalling so I couldn’t return the keyboard and not doing their own due diligence to actually engage with me as a customer. Some of this feels like it may be a language barrier, but it ultimately made me feel like they don’t stand behind their products, and I still feel like they’ve made a huge mistake with the RGB that bugs me quite a bit for how it limits the visual appeal of the board. The RGB thing I would have maybe knocked off 1 star for, but the support treatment so far knocked 2 more off. Would I recommend this keyboard? Maybe. We’ll see if they change their tune (I’m still perusing a solution to the RGB) or release the firmware source so I can try to fix it myself. It is a very nice entry level keyboard Look, as a keyboard, this is pretty good for the price. The keycaps are possibly a bit of a long term issue, but that’s easy to fix, and the switches were solid, just a pain to change out (which is the point of hot swap switches). Sound and feel is overall good. I’d recommend it as a good starter keyboard for the price, but only if you’re willing to risk having lackluster support and potential issues where support ultimately tires of troubleshooting and declares it “working as intended” rather than supporting their product. So RK, prove me wrong, and help me fix this issue.