Cyclocross bike for 5 foot 4 inch man?

[Eden]

I'm 5'4", too, and I ride a 54 cm Trek 1000. I know it's not a cross bike, but the standover height is just fine. Am I to understand that if this were a cross bike, I wouldn't have a good standover?

I really wanted a more versatile bike than a road bike--really wanted a steel touring bike, but this was in impulse purchase--a good deal at the time, and I'm not ready to invest in the touring bike, yet. The bike fits with adjustments to the stem, but I'm interested the differences in the standover height between a cross bike and road bike. I hope someone who knows will post more about it.
Thanks,
Karen

Cross bikes are made so that the bottom bracket is higher off of the ground - to clear rocks and other obstacles better. The "size" of a bike is generally the length of the seat tube, usually measured from the center of the bottom bracket to either the center of the top tube or the top of the seat tube depending on the mfg (just to make it even more confusing...) So, since you are started off already higher off of the ground on a cross bike the height of the top tube (and thus the stand over height) on the cross bike will be greater than on a road bike with the same length of seat tube. Ususally everthing else is bigger too - so top tubes, chainstays etc. are longer than on a road bike of the same "size" also.