i'm so confused. how is this a debate. i can't think of a single reason not to have tire repair equipment on a ride. it weighs very little and takes only 15 minutes to switch out a tube. by comparison, if you can walk a bike with a flat tire at 4 mph, you've used the same 15 minutes. oh, and you still need to fix your flat. so unless you're planning a ride that's less than a mile, it's valuable to carry tire repair equipment with you.