Originally Posted by
Beaker
I wonder if you might want to get think about replacement cables/housing for your FD - kinks or constrictions could be responsible for the stiff shifter and poor performance.
Now that you mention it...
I haven't been riding my 105-equipped bike much lately, so I forgot about this:
About a year after I bought it new, I had it on the stand for cleaning. I noticed that the FD cable was destroyed, hanging on by a single thread of wire. Strangely, it had been operating like butter for who knows how long in that condition.
I replaced the cable, kept the housing. Problem-free since.