Just been to LBS to buy 2 metres of Shimano Gear cable outer to finish a bike build this afternoon.

I asked for SP41 gear cable outer but once home I’ve taken it out of the bag and it says SLR on it.

Isn’t that brake cable?

Yep, SLR is brake. SP41 is gear…

Oh bollards, won’t be finishing bike today then…………..

whats the difference? isnt cable cable? is it the ends?

brake cable is ‘strands’, gear coiled plus the internal diameter is different too.

There was a chap on the site selling gear cable by the metre a few weeks back.

“brake cable is ‘strands’, gear coiled”
Other way around, I thought? Brake is coiled to give some modulation (like a really rubbish spring that compresses a tiny bit), gear is several (non-coiled) strands to index gears accurately (but could split if compressed with as much force as brake outer).

Why don’t they print ‘brake’ and ‘gear’ instead of sp41/slr?

Coiled or not coiled, it will sting when I return it whip the back of his thighs with it 🙂