Originally Posted by bert37
I've had my new road bike for about three months now, and just got a third flat tire over the weekend -- all have been on the back. I ride mostly to/from work, on pretty poor roads, with a lot of debris (gravel, glass) and thru construction sites. Often in the dark.
Putting the patching or not aside, you should look at the tire quality, already mentioned by AndrewP. New bikes, more often than not, come with marginal tires. The tires make a lot of difference. With the current I ride, I have one puncture per 3 years. With the poorest I rode, I had one puncture per 10 days. My common route also has plenty of debris.