Thanks bot-man.

That's the one.

Tyres definitely make a lot of difference in my experience. Changing out the cheap schwalbe for a specialised crossroads that is armoured made all the difference. I haven't had one puncture with that tyre, can't recommend an armoured tyre enough if you are using your bike all the time and want reliability!

I carry nothing, I have cycle commuted on this bike 4 - 5 days a week for the last 7 years or more as well as doing rides for myself. When i first got the bike I had a couple of flats on the rear, I changed the tyre and since then I've had 1 flat in around 6 and a half years so I just don't see the point.

The flat I did have was a pinch in the front from a huge pothole I didn't see on a route I didn't know so it was what I would consider exceptional circumstances too.

How often do you actually use that stuff?

I ran into issues with sometimes not being able to view some other users files when I requested a list of what they were sharing, but I don't really know the ins and outs of how it all works, I just know that plenty of people downloaded a lot of stuff from me so it must have been working for some people :)