Hand strength and shifting

[Mama Coosa]

Tons of women have issues shifting the front derailleur. Like others have said, it usually does come down to a combination of hand strength and cable housing routing.

Also, most manufacturers build their bikes with Jagwire housing or a house brand that is likely made by Jagwire. This also makes an enormous difference. Jagwire sucks. A lot. Shell out a little coin to have Shimano housing installed and you'll notice a significant improvement. There's a lot less friction in Shimano housing.

I also highly recommend Di2 to anyone. It's super awesome being able to just push a button and make the derailleur shift. Plus, once it's set up, you don't really have to adjust it unless you change wheels.

[featuretile]

I have a Ruby Compact with 105. It was always a little harder to shift the left (front chain rings) than the right, but not impossible. Then I put a MTB cassette and XT derailleur on the bike to have more low gears. I brought the bike to a new mechanic who works out of his home and was recommended by the club elder (83 year old man who still leads rides). Not only did he perfectly tune the new non-standard setup, but he did something to the front shifter as well. The first maiden voyage I shifted the front with a lot of pressure as I had previously done and the chain popped off, and I thought I would have to bring it back. Put on the chain and tried shifting with a light touch and no pressure - and I mean none. It was perfect and effortless and haven't dropped the chain since. So, I think your bike was not adjusted properly (and neither was mine before). I have not used SRAM, but I would imagine it is the mechanic that needs help and not you needing hand strengthening exercises.