Hey all!

Recently I purchased my girlfriend a second hand '05 Stumpjumper. It's a lovely bike and she's really taken to mountain biking in a big way.

However, there's been a couple issues; with shifting mostly. First off the throw for an upshift on the left shifter is vast for her little thumbs! This was remedied by rotating the shifters further anti-clockwise and that seems mostly remedied. Short throw front shifters would be ace though...

But another issue that's arisen it's self is simply the effort involved of an upshift on the front mech. I've ensured the pivots all are running freely, even after a very muddy ride. The cables all appear in good condition and are free from corrosion. Which leads me to think It may be a problem with the shifter or cable housings.

My concerns with the shifter come from a kind of slight ratchet-y feeling when moving it through it's stroke. This is absent on my XTR shifters of a greater age. (I realise I am comparing XTR and LX, but still...) But what leads me to think it might be housing as it feels more like a stiffness issue than mechanical resistance from the shifters.

What do you guys thing is my best option?

I'd go for greasing the cable runs and see if that eases them. You could also take the cables apart and see if there is any corrosion inside. The lubricant in the inner may have got sticky and need cleaning out.

Front derailleurs are often cabled incorrectly, which causes extremely stiff feel at the lever. See the pic below to see what I mean. Most shimano derailleurs have a washer with a tab under the cable anchor bolt, and the cable must go over that tab, which holds the cable further away from the pivot, increasing the leverage.

It's not about options so much as following the checklist to find the cause.

Step one is to make sure it isn't a cable issue. Cables bear close inspection since they can suffer from any number of subtle problems. If you practise your google fu it should be easy enough to find some troubleshooting resources.

You say you've eliminated the derailleur as a possible cause, which if true, and the cable's fine, leaves the shifter. If so, you could try flushing it with WD40 and then some spray lube.