Originally Posted by
Iride01
I think that on the very old bikes of the 70's that the cables were about the same diameter if not the same. But the terminus or whatever the proper word is for the thing on the end of the cable was different depending on whether it was to fit in a shifter or a brake lever.
You could buy a 'universal' cable that had a brake terminus on one end and a shift terminus on the other end. Handy to carry as a spare on a long tour.