Originally Posted by noglider

First of all, don't give up yet.

A lot of really good bikes were good in most sizes except the smallest. They have to make compromises at that end of the scale, and they sometimes do it wrong. 56cm for a top tube does sound too long. Please reconsider getting a shorter stem, at least to try it. You might find you can tolerate the look after a while. And whoa, that looks like a huge stem for a bike of that size.

Second of all, try new tires. Good tires can liven up just about any bike. At the high end, I have Schwalbe Stelvio tires, which ride like a dream. At the low end, you can get some Panaracer Pasela tires at $20 each which are damned good at any price.