(Romanian(?)) expression akin to "Running on paddlers' fins"?
Adding swim fins make a swimmer a more efficient swimmer. But donning them before a track event would be a disaster. The efficiency in one arena becomes a burden in another.
The bicycle is efficient; perhaps the most efficient mechanism ever devised.
(Exploratorium: Science of Cycling)
Like a fish needs a bicycle
Since it does not have legs and cannot pedal, a fish would gain no mechanical efficiency from the bicycle.
The expression like a fish needs a bicycle is a funny idiom to visualize, and it’s easy to figure out when you think about it.
Does a fish need a bicycle? Not at all.
Therefore, like a fish needs a bicycle is a simile that people can use when someone doesn’t need something at all.
(WritingExplained.org: What Does Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle mean?)
Consider a case where the grocery stores require a mask to enter, perhaps to reduce the spread of some communicable disease.
"Bill wore a hazmat suit to the grocery store to buy milk? Instead of an N95 mask??"
"Yep, like a fish needs a bicycle."