Back in the day, roadies ran teeny tiny 23mm tires. I tried explaining that physics had something to say about that, but no one listened.
Now, even pro racers usually ride larger tires, 28 is common, I like 32. A lot of old bikes don't have the room.
You want relaxed geometry, regardless.
Carbon is good, I prefer the new steels. Best bike I have is my Gunnar Sport, you really should at least try one of the new, and expensive, steel bikes. Gunnar is the 'budget' version of Waterford. One old review of the Sport, years ago, was by a bike shop guy that said 90% of his customers buying pricey bikes would be better off on the Sport. I made the mistake of trying it while a bike shop was working on my Ti bike, and it literally put a goofy grin on my face, and then changed my life for the better.