Would a slogging spanner work in your opinion?
Replaced the belt (still looked in very good shape, but I had the new one there already) and had to remove the bottom of the crash bars and the cross brace to fit my 34 socket and it was a bit of a pain... I was looking for something "thinner" to use next time the belt needs replacing, so I don't have to take the bars off. Also the handle of the slogging spanner seems like it might help to push the belt over.
I pushed it in with my fingers this time, wasn't as hard as I expected tbh, but still took a bit.