Comment by voidUpdate
2 months ago
Do you mean between black and light grey? Light grey pins have always been the kind you use for rotating connections (low friction), whereas black was for non-rotating ones (high friction). Newer blue pins are also high friction, IIRC. I haven't bought new lego technic in a while, so I don't know if there's been any new colours added
EDIT: I think I also had some dark grey pins, but I don't remember if they were high or low friction
My memory of twenty years ago says the dark-grey pins were 1 stud wide on one side, and half-wide on the other, and low-friction like the light-grey ones.
I think they were light grey as well. They were commonly used to make cranks out of the 4185 belt wheel or attach objects to the wheel.
> Light grey pins have always been...
I think the black ones were a later addition, likely late nineties.
Per the article I linked to, '93.
Which is presumably why I didn't notice until my son started playing with it, as I'd stopped playing with mine by then.