UX Quickie: Castelli Fingerless Cycling Gloves

I haven't ridden my bicycle consistently for months (due to an elbow injury last December), and now that I am, I've found myself digging around in my closet for my cycling gear. Apparently I have about 20 pairs of cycling gloves, which is good for all those extra limbs I acquired after that nuclear waste accident (kidding).

One pair in particular I like a lot.

Yes, I know one glove is not a "pair" - I have another one, smartass.

They're a pair of fingerless gloves made by Castelli. One of the most annoying parts about cycling gloves, at least for me, is that after riding for awhile, they have a way of sticking to sweaty hands and become difficult to remove. They almost literally have to be peeled off, especially on a hot day. Castelli found an elegant way to circumnavigate this problem. See it? Here, I'll give you a closer look.

Holy finger holds, Batman.

Ah! They're finger holds! At first the little straps are confusing because they're unusual, but once you put the gloves on it becomes almost immediately obvious that the little loops afford putting your fingers through, and then pulling them off is completely natural.

Very cool.

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Aside: I'm thinking this UX Quickie thing might be the first entry in another recurring trope on this blog. The idea? Just a quick post about a small usability thing that I think rocks or that I think is terrible, particularly if it's something that's on a physical thing (as opposed to the intangible world of software). I don't know how often I'll do this; I'll probably post them as often as I'm inspiration strikes.