Hey quick question. Do hub have to wear in to start rotating with less friction?

Why I ask, just reading this post with a dude complaining he's no faster on his new Specialized Allez Elite than he was on some old bikes. This reminded me of a trip I just took with two mates, one on a brand new Orbea flat barred roadie, the other on a Hybrid that had done many miles. I was on my 1991 Trek 920 mountain bike with the original STX hubs and semi-slick tires. Anyway, I was the quickest roller, followed by my mate with the hybrid, with the new Orbea slowest. But that should have been the fastest as it would have had the best hubs and the narrowest, fastest tires. Only reason I could think was that hubs might be like car engines and they have to wear in to give their best. Is that the case?