Madison Element gloves review
Can you really keep your hands warm for just £20 this winter?

The Madison Element gloves are good looking, good value but only moderately warm.
-
+
Good value
-
+
Stylish
-
-
Not warm enough
-
-
Uncomfortable
You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
As a rule, kit from Madison punches above its price point, so we had high hopes for the stylish Madison Element gloves. They definitely look the part in sleek, slim-fit black, with minimal clutter and just a dash of colour to bring them alive.
There’s no padding to speak of, and the cuff is a simple pull-on affair. Silicon detailing on the fore and middle fingers give some extra grip at the controls, while Madison is at pains to point out that silver stitching on the tips of forefinger and thumb make using smartphones and bike computers a cinch.
>>> The best winter cycling gloves
Sadly we found that in use these gloves fell some way below our expectations. While it pulls on nicely and the fit is good, it only took a couple of miles of riding before the very prominent seam at the base of thumb and forefinger of the Madison Element gloves began to feel quite uncomfortable. This was accompanied by a definite lack of effective protection from the cold, which I eventually traced to the very thin, Lycra-esque material between the fingers. There’s quite a lot of it too, and despite the use of windproof material on the backs of the hands, in cold weather you can literally feel the onrushing air chilling your digits.
Unfortunately the silver thread provides no silver lining to this sad story, as I had no more luck navigating my iPhone than with any other glove I’ve used - that is to say, very little. It was fine with my Garmin on the other hand, but then again so are all my gloves.
>>> 10 of the best budget winter cycling jackets
Madison calls these a “lightweight thermal winter glove for cold weather riding” - unfortunately this is overselling them rather as they’re simply not warm enough for sub-5ºC riding. But that doesn’t mean you should discount them - they could make a good value and rather stylish spring/autumn glove, but you’d want to take the scissors to that pesky seam.
For more info visit the Madison website.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Founded in 1891, Cycling Weekly and its team of expert journalists brings cyclists in-depth reviews, extensive coverage of both professional and domestic racing, as well as fitness advice and 'brew a cuppa and put your feet up' features. Cycling Weekly serves its audience across a range of platforms, from good old-fashioned print to online journalism, and video.
-
Shimano extends Hollowtech crankset inspection programme to Europe amid injury fears
760,000 Hollowtech road cranks recalled in USA and Canada originally
By Adam Becket Published
-
In memoriam: Tadej Pogačar's white jersey domination
After 81 days in the young rider's jersey at Grand Tours, the Slovenian has grown up
By Adam Becket Published
-
I'd choose the club ride over going solo, any day
Cycling Weekly's Digital Editor refuses to share a point of view with one of our regular contributors
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan Published