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Far far less lateral stress than being ridden in a lot of situations.
I'm not an engineer, but I don't think there really isn't that much lateral stress while riding. Even in turns, most if not all stress goes down through the wheels and tires. If there was much lateral stress, I would think that riders would be falling all the time.

Isn't that the case with every hitch mounted bike rack in the market?
Good point! Although a lot, 50% +/-, of the bike is usually hidden by the car or tailgate.
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AllInev

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I know right! How are they going to lock the tailgate in the down position?
From the source/article: "The patent also outlines some ā€œlocking mechanism ā€¦ attached to the vehicle bumper, to fix the tailgate in a locked horizontal position when the cargo securing system is being used.ā€ So, if youā€™re carrying your fancy-pants road bike ā€” or two! ā€” there may be a mechanism to keep the tailgate from bouncing and jostling the bikes as you drive."
 

crashmtb

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I'm not an engineer, but I don't think there really isn't that much lateral stress while riding. Even in turns, most if not all stress goes down through the wheels and tires. If there was much lateral stress, I would think that riders would be falling all the time.



Good point! Although a lot, 50% +/-, of the bike is usually hidden by the car or tailgate.
Iā€™m not an engineer either, but cycling Is one of my primary activities and I have too many bikes. There is lots of lateral stress on bicycles when they are ridden. It is not and cannot be isolated to the wheels and tires.
Lateral stiffness is a big thing. One of my older full suspension bikes has so much lateral flex in the swingarm that the tire will rub under cornering, even leaned over.

I fall all of the time(my username is a clue), I will now blame the bikeā€™s inability to withstand lateral stress ?

regarding air movement pushing on the bikes, bikes are pretty open things. A bike sideways into the airflow isnā€™t exactly a sail.

Consider a bike on a roof mounted rack, facing forward.ā€¦but youā€™re driving in a crosswind.
 

DuckTruck

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This is interesting. I need to handle 4 bikes with the Rivian so I am keen to find the most efficient way to do so.

First I have seen about a mounting system for the bed/tailgate.

https://gearjunkie.com/motors/truck/rivian-tailgate-bike-rack-patent
JeremyMKE,

I'm with you on finding a way to load up multiple bikes. For a day of doing little more than getting friends and/or family out for a ride, I'd prefer a different system. I'd prefer a rail system that you could lay on the floor of the bed near the cab that would allow multiple bikes to be carried in the standing position. That tire rail system would traverse the bed with supports from one side to the other, to keep it from sliding laterally. Bikes could be alternated forward-facing and rear-facing to fit more bikes. It could be fashioned out of several snap-together parts for easy assembly/disassembly and storage in the backseat or Gear Tunnel while away. The tire track portion could also rotate 90ā° on it's supporting rail piece to minimize/streamline the shape, thus taking up less space in storage. Also, simply closing the tonneau cover would probably do the trick for safeguarding the system while you're out riding.

On the tailgate mounting system mentioned here, the rail slot in the tailgate could hold a support for perpendicular tracks arranged in line with the front tracks, allowing the bikes to allign to the travel of the vehicle. Because the bike(s) are no longer standing solely on the tailgate, in a perpendicular pisition, the need to lock the tailgate in the down position is now eliminated. This placement and positioning would also improve the aerodynamics and keep the bikes protected from the wind and elements, including rain, rocks, branches, garagedoor openings and whatnot, that come into play more when mounted on the roof, and likely the tailgate. It would also limit some of the lateral stress of cornering by sitting lower and being better-secured by the bikes' top tubes than if they were on the roof, sitting up so high and secured by the removable rails. This is especially true for any e-bikes in the mix, with their greater mass. Getting the bikes in and out of the bed would also be much safer and easier than using the roof rack.

Should the tailgate mounting slot in this patent not come to pass, a similar rearward tire rail system could be secured in other ways to allow the bikes to remain in place when cornering, changing speeds, and bouncing around offroad.

Tie-down straps could be connected by any number of devices fashioned as an anchor to be inserted in the rail mounts on the bed sides. Actually, locking in one or both of the Cargo Rails after the bikes are in place, especially if they can be placed through the triangle formed by each bike's top tube, down tube, and seat tube would allow a greater level of security and any number of tie-down possibilities. Using inexpensive foam pipe insulation on the removable Cargo Rails would protect the bikes and Cargo Rails from metal-on-metal contact. With the width of the bed, and by alternating the direction of the bikes, I imagine all five occupants could have a bike available for a ride somewhere special or remote for the day.
 

FutureTruck

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I need to carry 4 bikes, three of which are large. I'm thinking 3 in the bed on a rack like pictured below and the lightest bike on the roof on the factory Rivian rack.

Rivian R1T R1S Tailgate Bike Rack Patent bike
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