[aj4499]

What do you mean by rubber bands?

All these people tell me to get a rim lock, which is crazy for such a low power bike.

Yea, this is very odd. People also say to not put on or tighten that nut that goes on the outside of the valve stem...odd, always did before without problems.

I'm getting a new tire, tube, rim strip, and rim lock just to be safe though...I'm really upset about this

And the tire is in really good shape on there now; it's the stocker with only 100 miles...shouldn't be oversized as it's the exact right size, not over-stretched either...who knows...