Originally Posted by
illdthedj
oh it was a shimano 9 speed chain. actually i think i have that replacement pin that snaps off, but was just curious if there was some special way of reinserting the average joe pin back in.
and i should probably pick up a few master links next time im by the LBS
Originally Posted by
Bezalel
Shimano pins are not meant to be pushed halfway out and reused, they should be replaced with a repalcement pin. (I'm not sure if there is any technical reason or if this is just to sell more pins.)
There's no way to put the pin back in cleanly, the OD at the end of the pin is larger than the ID of the hole in the side-plate. The pins have an expanded end that causes a very tight interference fit. Even
IF you didn't push the pin out all the way, when you pushed it back through, it would've cut out a small sliver of metal from the hole in the plate. This causes a loose fit and the chain will break at that point in the future. The only way to get the pin into the hole is to have an expanding guide that expands the hole:
http://bicyclehero.com/img/description/shcp9.jpg
On older 3/32" 8-spd & earlier chains, the way I've always gauged how far to push the pin is to count 9 half-turns of the chain-tool. That pushes the pin out most of the way, leaving about 0.1mm protruding into the inner-surface of the plate. This helps hold the chain together when re-assembled and lets me get the tool on the other side to push back the pin.