I learned an important lesson back in 1972(the earth's crust had barely cooled) I knew how to repair a punctured inner tube having been shown how as a kid by my father at home. So, as an adult after buying my first "10 speed" I figured that all I needed to fix a flat on the road was tire irons and a patch kit. There I was out on my trusty Peugeot UO8 on a ride when I suffered a puncture. No problem, I flipped the quick release, removed the rear wheel in a jiffy and quickly pried one side of the tire off the rim. I pumped the inner tube and found out that the hole was very close to the valve, too close to patch no matter how many times I tried. I still carry a patch kit, but it is a last resort for flat repair on the road. I carry 2 spare inner tubes and can be back on the road in less than 5 minutes if I can quickly find the cause of the puncture. By the way, I use a Zefal HPX frame pump, no CO2