I put Scotch Super 88 tape over the zip ties too. No more broken spokes puncturing the tube. Ride safely.

Has that one pulled through the rim then?

its worth noting that even changing the tire is a massive pain in the ass. i had no idea how much effort that took. The videos with the stabilizing elevated spindles to hold and lock the wheel make it look super easy. I ended up needing to put my rear tire in the vice grip and brute forcing it off the wheel. That wouldn't have been possible if I was just trying to replace a tube because I destroyed the tire in the process. No clue how some of you are managing to do these repairs on the trail.

I was 15 minutes from attacking the thing with a sawzall.

Aye m8, it can be a struggle if they aint been off in awhile.
When I got my xt the tyres were shot & hadn't been off in many years, PO had done 300 miles per year.

The tyres were like welded to the rims, I had to squeeze them in the vice to break the seals all the way around. The rims were full of ally dust & rims very much corroded inside, I cleaned them up with a wire brush tool on my angle grinder, then gave them a couple of coats of ally paint, left them by the radiator for 2 days. It was worth all the effort, they came off easy last time I replaced them. A bit of rubber lube on the tube has become my best chum.

I've got a bead breaker similar to this... https://www.harborfreight.com/bead-breaker-92961.html ... and some spoons. It usually takes 3 spoons, the hard part is holding 3 spoons with 2 hands. I've changed plenty of tires, 2-5 sets per year were normal back in my sportbike riding days. Thankfully I'm yet to deal with dry rotted tires.

I'd have broken that tool, it was a struggle in a 6" engineers vice, tyres were stuck fast all the way around & both sides. Hopefully I'll not have to do that again.

My thoughts exactly. Wheels with tires that have been in place for years can be especially difficult. Such tires can seem as though they've been welded to their wheel rims. I had to take mine to the local auto tire shop and use their hydraulic bead breaker to break the tire loose. The shop owner didn't want to do it. Thought there was too big a chance of damaging the wheel. When he left for lunch his son helped me and we got it done without damaging anything. Short of that I'm not sure I'd have ever broken the bead on that tire and got it off. Even a Hi-lift jack with its base sitting on the tire edge while jacking against my heavy Dodge truck wouldn't break it loose. I was beginning to think something like a Sawzall might be in order when I gave up at the house and took it to the tire shop..

Tires that have been in place long enough to essentially weld themselves to the wheel rim are a real b!tch to get loose. Changing them regularly like you did back in the day you most likely wouldn't encounter that problem. Count yourself lucky in that regard!..

A C-clamp will also come in handy to break a stubborn bead.

Yes I use a 4" C-clamp to break beads which works very well. Warm rubber is less stubborn too.