So i don't know what happened while changing my tire, but now my front brake is really tight and sensitive, how do i loosen it back up? i wasn't sure which screw would do it, or if the cable got a littl etwisted toward the bottom if that would do anything, but i couldn't figure out the adjustment

 

Without being there to examine your brake, I'll say this is usually the most common problem when you pull and reinstall a wheel. The brake pistons are used to working within a small distance of operational movement...pushing out to stop and retracting when releasing the brake lever/pedal. Sometimes when reinstalling the wheel you bump the pads hard enough to disturb that "normal" piston operating range. There is usually brake dust and other debris that then can hold the piston(s) out a little further than before. Now you have pad/rotor rub. The piston and pads should retract back into their original operating range, but sometimes the brake dust and debris won't allow it to retract on its own. If you take a common blade screwdriver and very gently and carefully pry the pads open a bit more than the rotor width, this will allow them to achieve their original operational range and stop rubbing.

You'll hear some wail and howl about how bad it is to pry open an existing set of brake pads on a bike, but if done carefully and gently, it will not tilt the earth off its axis. I've been doing this when encountering this problem since the dawn of disc brakes on motorcycles and have not had a problem. Now, on at least a couple of occasions, the pistons had enough crud in the bore area where this method didn't work. I had to actually service the caliper by cleaning it after a simple disassembly and then bleed the brakes...usually on motorcycle with lots of miles or severe, muddy, off road use. You can run into this problem sometimes when just installing new brake pads. Since they're thicker, sometimes the pistons just won't retract and stay retracted enough without servicing the caliper. This is usually the exception rather than the rule, however.

I forgot to add this also. Since this is your front wheel, you may not have your hub/axle in exactly the same spot as before. I would recommend that you tighten the axle into its threaded position in the fork leg, but before you tighten any face plate retaining bolts, stroke the front fork as hard as you can. Now, keep the bike as upright as possible by getting someone else to hold the bike straight up and down, or lean the handlebar against something to keep the bike as upright as possible before torquing down the face plate bolts. Don't set the bike on the side stand before torquing those bolts.

 

did squeezing the front break while the wheel was off have anything to do with this?

 

Oh...you didn't mention that...or I missed it. Yes, that would most definitely be the cause. Still, unless the piston(s) actually extended past the piston o-ring and bore throat, you can do the screwdriver thing and push the pads back in. Pull the pads and look for any damp/moist evidence around the circumference of the piston(s). If it's dry, put the pads back in and gently do the screwdriver thing. Pull the pads again and check for wetness. If you don't see any, I'd say you're good to go. The lever will feel funky when you operate it for the first few squeezes, but that's normal too. The lever should stiffen back up to its previous condition and feel normal. If not you may have to do a bleed.

 

Recommendation used to be snug up the axle, hold the brake and bounce the front a bit to get everything to kind of line up. Then tighten pinch clamp bolts/nuts.

One other thing - all the parts in there? Make sure you didn't miss putting the spacer in.