Oval chainrings are probably wasting my money, and I finally get it

I ran oval rings for 3 seasons on my hardtail because everyone swore they helped with traction and knee pain. Last week I did a back-to-back ride on a 32t round and my old 30t oval on the same 10 mile loop near Flagstaff. My lap times were within 20 seconds of each other, and my knees felt exactly the same. Turns out the studies I found, buried in a MTBR thread from 2018, show most riders can't measure any real benefit outside of very specific climbing situations. I spent $85 per ring for basically a placebo effect, plus the added hassle of timing the chain with the wide spot. I get the theory, and maybe pros or racers in the right conditions notice something, but for a weekend rider like me it was money down the drain. Anyone else go back to round rings after drinking the oval Kool-Aid, or am I missing something about how they need a certain crank setup to work?

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