I recently did two flat repairs on Conti Sprinter Gatorskins. It wasn't hard.. The tricky part is always locating the leak, especially if it's small. Once that's done the rest is easy. Just pull up the base tape, cut and remove about 5cm of the stitching, pull out enough of the tube to get access to the puncture, and patch it like any tube. I use a nylon upholstery thread and try to reuse the old holes. Replace the tape using liquid latex. I clamp it tight and let dry overnight. Good as new. I don't get flats often--this was a freak occurrence--so I'm not going to beef about a couple of repairs over several years, especially when the tires are so nice to ride on. I don't judge anyone who wants things as easy as possible, but there are limits to that as well. I don't eat fast food much--convenience has its tradeoffs. Those who don't like rim cement can use rim tape--it's plenty strong.

This is a vintage bike forum, yet so many people seem averse to any of the manual work that was always part of the experience. Having a classic racing bike is a privilege but absorbs some extra time and requires skills that are not common today. Riding skinny tires also takes more skill. If you just want a bike to ride get something more modern with wide tires, indexed shifting--maybe electronic? That's fine, just a different thing..