General Cycling Discussion - Rear rack for Giant Cypress

I have a 2005 Ladies Giant Cypress:

http://www.mereyjarmu.hu/Neuzer/Giant/Trekking%20Cross/Cypress%20DX%202005/05_cypress_dx_lds_green.jpg

Because of its bizarre shape, I am having a hard time finding a rear rack for it. The screw holes are in a weird place. You can see it a bit better here: http://jeffslater.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/hpim0944.JPG - it isn't the exact same bike but you can see the location of the holes (right under the white brake cable). It seems that racks with fixed "arms" that attach to these holes always tip downwards at a significant angle. The rack the store recommended fits and is straight because the "arms" can be rotated and adjusted - I've angled the arms downwards so the rack can be level - but not with fenders. There is not quite enough clearance so the rack puts slight pressure on the fenders. I can turn the arms a little to raise the rack a little bit, but then the "arms" interfere with the brakes.

Any recommendations for this? I was also hoping to find a rack with a little spring loaded bracket at the back that holds the bag in place. I was thinking of this: (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270416860262&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching), but I don't know if it will fit.

The back of the frame looks just like my Giant Trans Send, which has a fairly unique rack attached. Long curved bars that meet the rack. Maybe if you can get the Trans Send rack, it will fit right.

you might try one of those racks that attach to the seat post looks like it should work. i got mine at kmart

I used to have a 2006 Cypress DX. This is how I installed the rack.

http://www.brucew.com/images/bikeforums/cypress+rack.jpg

The legs are screwed through holes that were in the dropouts. The holes weren't threaded, so there's a nut on the inside. I don't remember if I used split lockwashers or nylock nuts.

The upper mounts are through the seat collar. I unscrewed the quick-release bolt and ran it through the rack mounts.

Once mounted, the rack was rock solid, although it looks jury-rigged. (The fenders, now those are jury-rigged.)

One thing about the Cypress that may be a problem is heel-strike. If you don't use panniers, no problem. If you do use panniers you may need an expedition-style rack like the one I had to get. With it I was able to mount my panniers further towards the rear and out of the way of my heels.

The rear brake clearance can take some creativity. My 2004 Cypress has a hole in the rear frame where I put a long .250 bolt to raise the mounts above the brake cable. Since your Cypress does not have this hole, the bike shop should have a seat tube clamp to mount the front brackets similar to tsl's mount.

Both our Cypress have a secont set of holes in the seat clamp, the quick release bolt is on the front and the back has the rack mount holes. Maybe you could buy just that part from the newer ones?
My wife's XS though the seat is so low that the rack tilts forward, I'm going to fix up bracket that goes from the frame mounts to the seat collar then up a couple more inches to bolt the rack to to bring the front back up to normal height.