wrk101

If you want to ride a bike that totally does not fit, I guess you could. There are people that do it out there. Of course, their backs hurt, their knees hurt, etc.

As a practical matter, the Trek and Cannondale have the most value anyway, so if you are being a thrifty rider, keep the cheapest one, which just happens to be the only one that fits, and sell the other two.

Selling price is all about condition, the key words are "ready to ride" and "spotless". On the Cannondale, I would change out the seat, remove the seat bag, and change out the bottle cage and bar tape (it looks tired to me). I buy bar tape in bulk, less than $3 per bike so for a minimal expense, it can make a bike really look finished. And similar bartape is sold by my local dealer for $15 to $20, so it adds value. I would use a generic silver bottle cage, I get them for less than $2. Then I would use a polishing compound (Walmart sells it in the auto section) to clean up the paint and frame. I would use soft scrub or similar to clean up the brake lever hoods. Air up the tires, if the cables are rusty, replace them. Anything worn or tattered will depress your price significantly. If the tubes leak, they need to go. And the tires need to match and look newish (they do in the pictures).

I would do a similar cleanup on the Trek.

I would sell the Cannondale around here for $275, and the Trek for $250 (in pristine, ready to ride condition). Not sure of the size of the Trek, if it has a 19 inch frame, I would sell it for a little more as small frames sell at a premium.

And to sell anything on Craigs List or ebay, you need to do a good/great job marketing your product, with great pictures (full size, not the small C/L crap). I have seen the same bike sell on ebay for 3X higher at the same time just due to great marketing. Getting full market price is not automatic.

If you are going to flip a bike, IMHO, you have to look at how you add value to the bike. Value is added by cleanup, minor maintenance, and superb marketing.