riser bars w/ narrow clamp area?

[Becky]

Help! My new MTB came with riser bars, which I love, but they're too wide! I'm already moved the shifters, brakes, and grips in and hacked ~1.5 inches off each side, and they're still too wide. The problem that I've run into is that the low part of the bar is too wide, which means that I can't slide the stuff in any further in order to cut more bar off.

I've pored through the distributor catalogs at my LBS and, while there's a lot of riser bars out there, none of the catalogs give the width of that lower area, just the overall bar width So, does anyone have any suggestions for a 31.8 mm clamp bar with a narrower lower area than most bars? FWIW, the current bars are Ritchey Comps. If I really have to, I'll switch to a 26 mm stem in order to fit the right bar, but I'd prefer the 31.8 if I can stick with it (and save some coin!).

Many thanks in advance!

[Irulan]

what kind of width are you talking about? My bikes range from 22 -24" and I am a small XC rider.

[Becky]

Total bar width should probably be in the ~22-23" range. Currently, the bars are about 25" after their first "surgery" and still too wide to be comfortable. I'll measure more carefully when I get home tonight- I'm estimating at the moment.

What brand/style of bars are you using?

[Irulan]

I have four mountain bikes. Two have carbon monkey lites on them, one has some old school flat bars, one has stock FSR Specialized bar. You don't want to go too narrow, wider is more stable.

[Becky]

I measured my bars- ~24.5" going straight across at the widest point. I can move the shifters, etc. in about another half-inch on each side, which gets me to ~23.5" inches, before they bump into the bend for the riser. That clamping area, where the bar increases from 25.4 to 31.8, is almost 9" wide! And therein lies my problem.

FWIW, the flat bars on my hardtail are only 21" at the widest point, and they feel "normal" to me. Yes, I have tiny shoulders.