I'd like to trade my cross bike, which is too big, for a road, but don't know which o

[bikecanada]

I need some help on what I should do. I just bought a devinci cyclocross bike in the summer, in June, so it's a new 2008 model. It's actually too big, maybe slightly, because I have no standover height clearance..the bar is literally in my crotch if the bike is straight.
Anyways, I rode it for a few months and it's okay on the roads, but not perfect. I went to the shop this week and wanted to see if they would do a trade, but I guess they won't.
Should I try to sell it now or later, like next spring? I brought it to another shop and they would only take it for about $700 even though it was $1230 when I bought it, so a trade in seems like a bad deal.

I also want a road bike that I can do some light touring on if I want (supported credit card type of tour). I've tried the Giant Avail, a Cannondale Synapse and Six-3, but what else would you recommend? Does it need the eyelets for the racks if I want to tour with it?
By the way, I am 5'3 so I'm usually around a 47-48cm...but my current bike is a 50cm

Thanks!

[Biciclista]

$700 is a great trade-in price!

[bikecanada]

Really? It's basically brand new though ( 4 months old). I thought they would trade for more

[Biciclista]

a lot of shops won't take used bikes at all; they have to be able to make a profit reselling it.
Hang in there; someone else will answer your other questions.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I also want a road bike that I can do some light touring on if I want (supported credit card type of tour). I've tried the Giant Avail, a Cannondale Synapse and Six-3, but what else would you recommend? Does it need the eyelets for the racks if I want to tour with it?

Only if you want to carry stuff for touring. ;)

There are gizmos that can attach baskets and bags to your bike without rack brazons/eyelets....but you might not want to carry anything over 5 lbs that way.
It's possible you might enjoy touring and want to do more adventurous touring after a while- why not get a bike with the necessary brazons for racks to begin with? Hard to add those things later.
Another consideration for touring is your posture on the bike- would you be comfortable for 5 hours on the bike in a bent down racing position?
Also for touring consider a bike that can take wider/sturdier tires if you want- some road bikes cannot take tires over 25c wide.

[Nokomis]

It does sound like you bought the wrong bike for what you need. A cross bike will have much less standover, but they pretty much expect you to do flying dismounts & mounts :D

I'd suggest finding your local cyclocross community online and trying to sell it there first. Might get a better price than via the shop - it's mid season, may get lucky with someone wanting to replace their bike, or jump in and give it a go.

good luck!

[NadiaMac]

regarding touring on a road bike. you do not need eyelets or other fixed hardware to afix racks for loaded touring. Old man mountain and axiom sell racks that mount through the quick release and caliper brake or canti brake mounts. I used these (OMM, front rack; axion, rear rack) to carry over 60 lbs of gear on my road bike for several weeks last summer.