Originally Posted by
pgjackson
I'm an idiot. I have just been slapping those little stickers on there and thinking it was good to go. <<facepalm>>
You're not an idiot, you're just on the bottom of the steep part of the learning curve. I'm just slightly above you, but still on the steep part.
My rear tube is on its third tire - I've lost two to sidewall cuts. It's got five patches so far, and holds air better than my unpatched front tube.
When you get patches, be advised that there are two sizes, and that you want the smaller of the two. The larger is made for MTB tubes, and is larger than the diameter of a normal road bike tube.