Touring - Nitto rando bar questions.

Looking into new bars and have a couple questions about the Nitto Rando bars.
How much real estate is there on the top bar of the Rando bars?
How wide are the bars compared to the Zoom bars found on the Surly LHT?
Midge bars look cool but man are they wide.
Thanks
Mike

A couple weeks ago, I installed the 45cm Nitto rando bars on my 1984 Schwinn Voyageur. I have large hands and my palms measure 9.5 cm from side to side. When I place my hands on the top bar such that the outside of my hands rests comfortably up against the curved portion of the bar, I have about 6cm from the inside edge of my hands to the stem.

I love this bar. I've got wide shoulders and big hands so I need a wide bar. I put the 48 cm Noodle on my Trek 460, but I like the 45cm Nitto rando bar much better.

I also have large hands and broad shoulders and have been using Rondos on my LHT since since I got it a year and a half ago. The first few hundred miles with the bars didn't feel right. After playing with the seat and bar height and angles I either got used to the different feel of the randos or I got everything tuned in just right.

IMO, Even though the Midge bars are much more popular right now, the Randos give you the most usable real estate on the top. The way they sweep back and up just a bit, it gives you a lot of hand positions just on the top part of the bar, while still giving you the ability to "drop" a little more than with the Midge.

I commuted on the randos for a little over a year, and hated them. the width is measured c-to-c on the drops, which flare out quite aggressively. This means the flat is quite a bit narrower than you would expect. this can, of course, be solved by going with a wider bar.

width issue aside, i found I couldn't get comfortable on the bar. the flare in the drops rotates your levers at the same angle of the flare. for me, this put the edge of my tektro campy-shape levers on edge, making one of the corners rest right in the center of the depression on my palm. anyway, not the bar for me. the top was too narrow and too oddly shaped to rest on, and the shape and flare of the drops precluded me from finding a nice level run-in from bar to lever.

the top was too narrow and too oddly shaped to rest on, and the shape and flare of the drops precluded me from finding a nice level run-in from bar to lever.

The top-shape wouldn't be an issue for me but I would like to be able to sort of simulate a mustache bar w/ the bar-to-hood transition. Ideally the bottom of the hook would not be parallel to the ground at that point.

My regular drops are 42 which I'm thinking, at the top, might not be too different from the nitto rando which is 45 at the flared ends.