Rivian bike mount doesnt work for me, some questions

[the_mace]

Its been a week since I got my R1T and I finally got out to try the bike mount Rivian sells. The Rivian offered bike rack wont fit above the bed without the front bar touching the cab when fully open regardless of your bike size. I put my bike on anyway, a 54cm Trek Domane and even with a relatively small road bike it doesn't fit without the front wheel touching the top of the cab:

I don't know why they have the front so far forward and not adjustable. I also didn't like that when a bike isn't loaded the front tire bars don't really stay in place. When loading the frontmost tire bar can hit the cab and scratch it, and when loaded the tire touches the cab and there's no way around it.

On top of the cab will be a real pain to reach and put up and get down unless you're tall (i'm not). That's not really something I want to deal with.

Questions for people:

1. Can you put it on backwards? I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere, is that some reason its not an option?
2. Has anyone tried to return one of these to Rivian? Its bulky and heavy. I just emailed my guide so i'll see what she says.
3. Seems like there are other mounts for in the bed, on the rails, and then on the hitch. Can people share what has worked?

Sponsored

 

[Riviot]

Questions for people:

1. Can you put it on backwards? I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere, is that some reason its not an option?
2. Has anyone tried to return one of these to Rivian? Its bulky and heavy. I just emailed my guide so i'll see what she says.
3. Seems like there are other mounts for in the bed, on the rails, and then on the hitch. Can people share what has worked?

1. Yes, see below
2. No, it works fine. See below.
3. Search the forums, friend. Plenty of options, reviews, and suggestions out there.

https://www.rivianforums.com/r1t-over-bed-bikes-on-yakima-highroad-bike-mount/#post-131916

 

[Dark-Fx]

You're supposed to put it on backwards.
https://rivian.com/support/article/bike-mount-positioning-guide

 

[the_mace]

You're supposed to put it on backwards.
https://rivian.com/support/article/bike-mount-positioning-guide

Wow, thank you. That didnt come in the instructions with the bike mount. Just got standard bike mount instructions. I'll try it backwards.

Do people leave it on when not moving a bike? Do the bars rattle or do you secure them somehow?

 

[the_mace]

1. Yes, see below
2. No, it works fine. See below.
3. Search the forums, friend. Plenty of options, reviews, and suggestions out there.

https://www.rivianforums.com/r1t-over-bed-bikes-on-yakima-highroad-bike-mount/#post-131916

Thanks, I thought it had to go on forward facing, didnt see the separate Rivian guide on it. How do you decide how far horizontally to put the bikes? Further in is hard to reach from the side of the truck

 

[the_mace]

Thanks, I thought it had to go on forward facing, didnt see the separate Rivian guide on it. How do you decide how far horizontally to put the bikes? Further in is hard to reach from the side of the truck

Ah doh, I found that in the guide too. Sorry.

 

[Riviot]

Thanks, I thought it had to go on forward facing, didnt see the separate Rivian guide on it. How do you decide how far horizontally to put the bikes? Further in is hard to reach from the side of the truck

I went as far out as possible while staying within the streamline of the end of the truck for aero. There was definitely efficiency hit with them up high, going to try my Thule T2 Classic hitch mounted bike rack next week/weekend and see how it effects efficiency.

 

[Riviot]

Ah doh, I found that in the guide too. Sorry.

What guide are you reading? I just slapped them on front facing, saw the bar hit, and flipped them around ??‍

 

[the_mace]

What guide are you reading? I just slapped them on front facing, saw the bar hit, and flipped them around ??‍

The one @Dark-Fx linked:
https://rivian.com/support/article/bike-mount-positioning-guide

Still not sure if it rattles with no bike/closed position will have to do some driving

 

[the_mace]

Ok so with it mounted in the proper backwards position according to Rivian (but not Yakima) it fits fine. Total height of bike top to ground is 8'3" so should be good even for the crazy Merritt Parkway.

Plenty of space between the rear wheel and the cab

Still need to figure out a few things:

1) Securing rack to truck. I think the answer is lock the cross bars, then use the tailwhip locking cable on the Yakima and lock it to the cross bar. Unfortunately I didnt get any keys with the Yakima so i'll have to ask about those. Is that what people are doing and did keys come with yours?
2) Securing bike to truck I assume is Gear Guard. Could maybe do both that and tailwhip but not sure that tailwhip is long enough for that. What are you guys doing?
3) When the bike isn't loaded i'd like to sometimes leave the rack on but those front tire hoops are loose without a tire in them and may rattle/bounce around. Bungie or some other solution? Any harm leaving it on there when the space isn't otherwise needed?
4) When the bike is loaded and secured the front tire is not in the middle of the dip at the bottom, is that normal? (IMG_1128)

For reference my bike is ~67" from outside edges of the wheels.

 

[Deleted member 11292]

1) Securing rack to truck. I think the answer is lock the cross bars, then use the tailwhip locking cable on the Yakima and lock it to the cross bar. Unfortunately I didnt get any keys with the Yakima so i'll have to ask about those. Is that what people are doing and did keys come with yours?

Locks are an upgrade and aren't included with the racks. You can buy a kit on Amazon. There are two locks to secure the rack to the crossbars and one lock for the cable to secure the bike to the rack.

 

[the_mace]

Locks are an upgrade and aren't included with the racks. You can buy a kit on Amazon. There are two locks to secure the rack to the crossbars and one lock for the cable to secure the bike to the rack.

There’s an integrated locking cable on the rack. It’s just missing keys.

 

[Deleted member 11292]

A cable is not a lock.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Rivian started selling the cores on the gear shop. You can order a set to match the cargo bars.

 

[the_mace]

A cable is not a lock.

It’s clearly meant to be:

“The Yakima TailWhip locks the rear tire of your bike to your Yakima bike rack. This TailWhip is only compatible with the Yakima HighSpeed bike rack“

Sponsored