Originally Posted by
ColinL
Some people, including at least one participant in this thread, go more than a year without a flat. At that kind of incidence rate, how exactly are tools mandatory?
A very high percentage of people have cellphones. If you get your once yearly puncture and can't make it home, pull out your phone and get your wife/friend/co-worker/mom to pick you up.
Which is great, until the flat happens at a time in which you'll be late for work or class, and you can't get a ride until it's too late.
It's not like you're lugging around a cannonball. The few extra ounces of a pump and tube are insignificant for a commuter.