How do you like the build of yours though?
So, I took a few minutes to inspect the Creation Aero 24. The main board, top and sides appear to be stamped from a single piece of sheet stock in the 2-2.5mm thickness range. I think the corners may be welded or somehow joined but it is very hard to tell from the outside and the feet hide it on the inside. However they are done is not really structural, so no worry about welds cracking or anything like that.
The only other pieces are the four plastic cylinder feet screwed into each corner and an angle piece that runs across most of the middle, attached with three screws from above. All 7 screws look identical and are countersunk almost flush with the top.
The two sides have arches cut out, there are oval cutouts for cables on the top (easy to see on the web photos) and there are a bunch of holes in the top along the two sides to mount handles, or their extension racks. The cuts are clean but not rounded off. I wouldn’t say that they are sharp but pretty close.
The space underneath is tight with the default feet. Test fitting with a Cioks DC7/8, the power supply is deeper than the sides, but the feet extend a little further, maybe a mm if even that much beyond the power supply. Think thickness of a medium pick. You could get a little more space if you remove the little rubber feet from the Cioks and mount it with countersunk screws (too much effort) but if you used Velcro, dualock, or even a thick double sided tape, the board would rest on the power supply not the feet. A power supply any thicker would be a no go. That said, even if you screw mount it, I don’t think there is enough clearance for real world use even with the Cioks because floors are not all perfectly flat hard surfaces and the board will flex.
Given the size, the board is fairly lightweight. The downside is it will flex a little with too much weight on it. Not an issue with pedal weight, but if a 200 lb or 90 kg person were to stand on it, there will be some noticeable flex. I don’t anticipate any issues but I am definitely glad I got the add-on feet that raise it another 12 mm. That should keep the power supply and wiring safely off the ground.
Overall, I would say it is well made for what it is. The design is lightweight but lacks welds or joints that can fail. Rounding off the cuts would have given it a bit more of a premium feel. On the plus side the way they are stamped and machine cut, I would expect pretty good consistency from unit to unit and no real fail points. It is a simpler design and build than a PedalTrain for better or worse. I don’t have a Rockboard, but if that had a 4.x in this size that wasn’t angled that’s probably what I would have tried first.
The need to buy extra feet, the mere 3 feet of included Velcro, and the slow shipping and lack of communication seem to be the main downsides so far. It could be a bit before I try to mount pedals to it and route cables, so further surprises are always possible.
