Jan.... These passages from some AVA & Mafac literature may not necessarily be at odds with the explanation you're giving.
"AVA....Le Randonneur 16" wide, 14 1/2" drop, 3 1/2" forward. The tourist's favorite, giving a perfect touring position. A slight lift from the centre enables the Continental type of touring brake levers to be used, so avoiding riding down hill in the drops."
"Mafac.... The Guidonnet* lever clips to the centre of the bars & follows the contours of the "tops" enabling the brake to be applied without reaching for the lower grip. Made in pairs, left and right hand to fit any shape of dropped handlebar but is most effective with the 'Randonneur' shape."
*AKA "touring"
Calvert Guthrie Kansas City Missouri USA
On Monday, October 26, 2009, at 11:15PM, "Jan Heine" <heine94@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>Please straighten me out if this is incorrect.
>>
>>My understanding is that the rise on Randonneur bars
>>flanking either side of the stem was to give additional clearance
>>for pulling up those curved Randonneur brake levers.
>
>The reason for the rise of the Randonneur handlebars is to provide a
>more comfortable position BEHIND the brake hoods. Due to the upsweep,
>the bars fit the palm of your hand perfectly there.
>
>However, in order for this to work properly, the bars must be shaped
>a certain way. The old AVA Randonneur handlebars did this best:
>
>http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/images/herse52-whole2.jpg
>
>The new Grand Bois "Randonneur" handlebars are a copy of this shape
>
>http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/Handlebars.html
>
>Many other "Randonneur" handlebars have the upsweep, but don't have
>the subtle shape to provide the extra-comfortable hand position. For
>example, the Nitto Randonneur bars and some GB "Randonneur" bars I
>have seen didn't offer any additional comfort over a standard
>handlebar.
>
>The "Randonneur" shape is quite old - as you can see in "The
>Competition Bicycle," Nicolas Frantz used them in the 1928 Tour de
>France. It was only after World War II that the shape was called
>"Randonneur," from what I can tell. By then, racers had moved to
>other shapes.
>
>Disclosure: Vintage Bicycle Press sells Grand Bois "Randonneur" handlebars.
>
>Jan Heine
>Editor
>Bicycle Quarterly
>2116 Western Ave.
>Seattle WA 98121
>http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com