What kind of pump are you using? Some of the small frame pumps can get pretty difficult to pump. A floor pump with built in gauge works better.

I have something like this:



It is much easier to pump than my small pump and the built in gauge makes it a breeze to get the right pressure.

As far as the "feel" goes, I checked my wife's hybrid today and it felt pretty hard, but when I put the pump to it it measured only 35psi and I pumped it to the 85psi recommended pressure.