seriously...there has to be some sort of magical secret. anyone?
kmc chain.

Chain tool.

chain tool took it out. are they supposed to put them back in magically too?

i always thought if the pin pops all the way out, then you're screwed. you have to just push it out far enough for the chain to separate, and then push it back in from the other side. you might be SOL. but what do i know?

What kind of tool are you using? I've seen screw in chain tools, and push chain tools. I know that with the screw in type, all you have to do is put it on the other side and push it back in until it matches the other pins. It might not be the right way, as I am not very good with mechanics, but it has worked with countless chains that I have done it on.

i pushed the pin all the way out, which i guess may be the problem. it's a little multi-tool topeaka screw kind.

Develop skills, son. Push the pin just enough that it will release the link but will allow you enough of a lip to center and hold the link when you're ready to reattach. Know your tool.

Sweet Jesus. That tool is really cool.

Thats odd. Usually multi-tool sets with a chain tool on it have it so that the chain tool is set up to prevent that. Like the screw thing will only screw so far. What brand tool is it?

Last time I pushed the pin all the way through, I was screwed. I think I bought a new damn chain, actually ... not that this helps, but it was ages ago. Become one with your chain tool.

Oh man chrisgraham. You are a funny man

nope, it let me push it all the way out.
i wonder if i can get away with taking out another link (and not completely removing the pin) and still have enough slack in the chain.

Did your chain come with a master link seperate from the chain?

hmm. i do not believe so. all the links look identical.

Is your chain super slack right now?

i went from a 48 down to a 46. it wasnt super slack, but enough that the wheel was pushed all the way to the back of the dropout.
i just took out another link, being sure not to pop out the pin, then put the chain back together. lets see if i can get the wheel back in there.

in honor of your help, i'm listening to decks, efx 909.

if you are patient enough you can put the extra link in the hole in a way that it will stay there long enough that you can use the tool to push it back in. this is probably not good for the chain and really frustrating and difficult to do

I would think that if you are all the way in the back of the droup outs, you should have plenty of room to take out 2 links.

Richie Hawtin is god.

turns out it was the crazy electronic vibrator that did the trick.

wait, no it wasn't. when i took out the extra link, it made it way too short. eventually i managed to bash the pin back into one of the links i removed enough to put it into the chain tool and push it back all the way in. amazingly enough it worked. patience is not one of my strong suits.

thank you everyone for you help.

rich is indeed good. or was anyway, i haven't really kept up.

Haha... oh ****. Can you get a picture of the link you bashed?

next time just remove the link that's f*cked and replace it with your spare full links (if you had any)

i've done that before, and pushed it back in. try to keep an eye on it though, especially if you're brakeless. you don't want to find out out damaged the link when you're going 30mph in traffic.

I once popped the pin out of this girl's bike who came into our shop, baaad mistake. I spent 20 minutes with a hammer finally tapping it just right to get it in just oh so right. So frustrating...

the link is actually fine. i took a dremel and filed down the edges on the pin just a tiny bit, so i could get it to sit atop the hole of the link (but not actually go in it). then i just kept trying to smack it in with a hammer. took about 20 tries, but eventually it went in enough that i could put it in the chain tool and push it all the way in. bikes all back together now, happy, safe and sound. tomorrow i'll be putting on new wheels (hopefully) and next week its paint time. woo hoo.