The first shifters were two sided hubs, and the rider was the shifter, as he got off the bike and flipped the wheel around to change gears. Early systems had levers that moved the chain and rear axle on push rods. Then DT shifters came about with bar ends. Stem shifters were a stopgap method to sell road bikes to the masses. Brifters first hit in '88 in racing, and to the general market in '90.

Now, for those with interal geared rear hubs...