My son has a Trek 220 w/grip shift (sorry...don't know what kind).

Man that thing is TOUGH to twist, even for me! What are some tricks I can employ to make the shifting a little easier on him?

Check the cables are not kinked, and lube all the pivot points you can.

If that doesn't cure it maybe the shifter itself needs some work

Even the low-end SRAM gripshifters are fairly easy to shift (the Shimano Revoshifters aren't difficult either) .

Sorry to ask this but you're not trying to shift without pedalling at the same time are you?

Alternatively it sounds like a sticking cable. If all else fails the SRAM shifters come apart for greasing easily (use the proper grease or at least another grease designed for plastic/metal interfaces).

Richard

Hard shifting is most often corrosion on the cables. Kids bikes get the galvanized cables and they corrode quickly.
The quick fix is to shift the bike up onto the big cog in the back, then with out pedaling shift to the smallest cog. This will give you enough slack to pull the housing out of the stops. Now you can slide the housing over to expose the cable. Sand it down and lube with a light oil. Stick everything back to gether and you should be OK.
The gripshift is easy to take apart if you know how. If you don't know how there is a 50/50 chance of breaking the retaining tab. Try to get someone in a shop to show you how to do it.

Sorry to bump an old thread but Im having a similar problem on a bike thats been sitting for a while. It will shift but its really hard to shift. The shifter I have is a Shimano sl-rs40. I've been attempting to teach myself bicycle maintenance so I want to say taking it to a shop is not an option.

When Rev.Chuck says "slide the housing" what are you referring to? The rear derailer and shifter work fine no hard twisting etc its just the front. I read in Zinn to adjust the limit screws but have gotten nowhere. Any help greatly appreiciated.

New cables, properly lubricated, and lubricate the insides of the shifter. If the cables have got to the point of rusting to the inside of the outer cables (or anythign else), I would strongly advise replacing them. It's cheap and easy, but very effective.
Alternatively, it may be that your mech has siesed up (sp?). Disconnect the cable to the mech, and try to move it by hand. If it moves easilly, it's probably your cables that are sticking. However, if it's hard to move, that may be your problem.
Hope this helped a bit

My SRAM shifter eventually became too hard to operate, I tried to pull it apart and fix it, needless to say I couldn’t fix it. I chucked it out a bought a LX rapid fire, which is much better.

CHEERS.

Mark

I've gotten the old cables removed and used some canned air to clean dirt and sand out of the shifter after removing the cover and its still a little sticky so I have another question... If I want to just replace the shifters so long as its 9-SRAM and shimano compatible does it matter what I use? Can I just pick a pair up on e-bay?

Also I have Zinns Art of Road Bike maintenance is the mountain bike book that much different or are the concepts basically the same?