I was just commenting on canalligators comment vs yours dkoloko - probably didn't come out right.
Anyway, I think I agree with you both. I'm not going to rotate the tires, planning on replacing them. And yes, if I was going to rotate to extend their miles I think it makes much more sense if I would have done it along the way. I have been known (by my wife) to wait to long to rotate my car tires
BTW: thanks all for the help in the original question about figuring out tire size options - much appreciated. I'll probably not try all the sizes to see how big I could get - although that makes sense if I had to know. Perhaps a practical solution would be to just move up to the next size 35mm for my next set and use them for the next year.
Then I can decide next year if I want to try something larger or stay with 35 or return to the 32mm
I should have used a consistent description. By 50%, I meant that the front might last one and a half times longer. I don't think it would last three times as long.
And as for using a 35 vs. a 32, the difference isn't significant - given the same tire in two sizes. The more significant factors are whether it has a puncture prevention belt, inflation pressure and general quality of the tire. Stick to a good brand name such as
Schwalbe, Continental, Maxxis, or other as recommended by a friend or trusted dealer. As a general rule, avoid tires that have a very low inflation pressure, i.e. 50 psi. A tire that's made for high pressure has a stronger cord structure. You don't need to run it at max pressure, but that's another long discussion in itself.
And starting the tour with new tires is excellent advice.