realskiers

LP -- re. the shifting troubles on your cross bike; are you using flat bars with mtn. bike shifters? If so, what part of the shifting motion is causing pain? Just the movement itself, regardless of how much resistance is presented by the levers? Or only on one of the levers, which happens to be very stiff and hard to move (ie. the upshift lever, left hand, large paddle)? If you elaborate a bit, perhaps I can suggest a fix.  I am thinking that if it's only when you apply a lot of pressure to the big lever (upshift), and we can ease the resistance, then you might be good (?).  Specifically what I am getting at is that there is can be significant resistance at the lever that is caused by friction in the entire line from shift mechanism to derailleur, and alleviated that friction can make shifting much smoother and lighter. 

  My own bike, OTOH, requires a lot of thumb force and can be a bear to get it to upshift.  The difference? Better cables on the other two bikes -- quality Jagwire, vs. OE cheap cables on my bike.  That, and when lubing the shifter and derailleur mechanisms helps some too, but better cables are really where it's at.  Needless to say, if I keep my bike for next season, I will be swapping cables and going with Jagwire.

Svend,
My cross bike (not a cyclocross) is currently configured with road drop bars, using road-style brake levers and the 7 speed mountain bike shifters. You are quite correct that the friction is a function of older equipment and shift cables. I don't have power at the ends of thumb range of motion, plus, the pain can be intense.  I did the conversion from flat bars to facilitate climbing on tours in hilly regions. I've always liked the ability to use narrower tires on the road and wider tires for light trail use, which is why I still have the old frame.

As Jim does on his bike, frequently, I need to do the shifting on the left side with my right hand. I've been fighting poor shifting for too long, but, it was not much of an issue as the trails I ride can be done mostly in the middle chain-ring.. I plan on converting back to a flat bar and have some XT gear for the brakes and shifters. I like your thoughts about using better cable and will give that a try.