Quote Originally Posted by bikecanada View Post
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.