Tubes are a pain.....I like to bring a pump when I purchase an old bike, blow up the tires if they will take it, and see what is left by the time I get home. I have a couple of tubes that are pushing close to 70 years and still holding air, but I am not riding those everyday. I will usually go to the LBS where I used to work over 25 years ago and give them some $$, tubes are not cheap. I read somewhere on here lately about running reinforced thorn proof tubes in old tires so as not to let the thin rubber work its way into a crack and cause a blow out. Those thorn proof tubes are almost like a tire by themselves, they are so thick, but that is a good tip. I used to ride on tubes with multiple glued on patches for miles, and miles off-road with no problems, but these sticky patches only seem to get me home and the tire will be flat by morning. I recently acquired a bike with air-less tires, muffintire.com, and it rides pretty well. The Muffin tires feel like they are just a little under inflated but they roll well, if they sold the tires by themselves I could find a bike or two to run them on. I might not service my bikes regularly but I do check the tire pressure and grab the pump before every ride. I like to add 5 psi to the maximum recommended pressure on the tire, and I always use a schraeder adapter for a presta valve, but thats just my preference. Cheers!