Originally Posted by Jarrett2

Going from a heavier aluminum bike to a lighter carbon bike should have either been a net zero performance increase or possibly a slight increase, definitely not a loss of speed.

mrfreezesdefy3, what's the wheel and brake setup on the new bike? Did your old bike have disc brakes as well?

I traded in a road bike with hydraulic brakes because they would not stop rubbing no matter how the LBS or I adjusted them. I'm not sure if it was my weight that was causing something to flex and make the rub happen or not, but whatever it was I could not get it to stop and the cumulative effect of riding 40+ miles on the bike was similar to having a rim brake rubbing for the entire ride. The result was that I was consistently slower and more fatigued than I would have been on the same ride on a different bike. Once I had a couple of road bikes to test back and forth, it became clear.

At my weight (280) I wouldn't buy a road bike with hydraulic disc brakes for that reason, no matter the frame material. I hope that is not your problem. I do have a gravel grinder with mechanical disc brakes which works for me because I don't do long miles on the road with it and also because I can choose the adjustment of the brakes. I can either crank them down for low tolerances and quicker braking or dial them out where the rotors have plenty of clearance and give up a little braking strength. It wasn't until I jumped into self adjusting hydraulic brakes that I ran into these issues on my road bike.

I would say buy a steel bike with rim brakes, but if carbon feels springy to you then steel would not be the direction you want to go. I never felt springy on my carbon bike. It had a very stiff feel to me, not as bone jarring as aluminum, but it felt as stiff. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever felt springy on any bike I've ridden. Maybe on a Domane with the bouncy seatpost, but I think that was by design. The titanium Lynskey I rode was noodly, but not springy.

It's important to remember that modern carbon bikes were not built for riders at 240+ lbs. They were designed around a 175-185 lb rider at most. Unforeseen issues like excessive disc brake rubbing can pop up as the bikes are loaded down beyond their original design intent. That's another reason I always recommend a steel road bike with rim brakes for folks over 250 lbs. That old design and technology just seems to accommodate the heavier rider better than modern bikes do.