H, I'm pretty new to bike maintenance.
This weekend I tried breaking my chain to clean it. This went well up until I accidentally popped the chain pin out and as a result had to remove a link. This chain came with the bike and AFAIK was well fitted before. It's a near-new hybrid commuter road bike. It still rides OK.
My question is, should I be at all worried that my chain is now about 1.5" shorter? How much leeway would be typical in a new bike? What rules of thumb exist around chain length?