riser bars w/ narrow clamp area?

[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.