In reply to d_b:
> One thing I have always wondered is whether offwidths are really all sandbags or if the problem is that most people just don't get used to climbing them.
Or both, possibly? There's an interesting interview with Danny Parker (did the third ascent of Century Crack, founded the "Offwidth Army") on the podcast "Hangdog Days", where he gives his opinion tht grading of offwidths in the US is kind of a mess, and in some areas a deliberate joke/sandbag.
He has a story about how Bob Scarpelli and Brad Jackson used to downgrade their new routes at the end of the day -- "Nah, more like 12a." "Nah, 11d." "Could be more like 11c." -- until they hit the grade where they started laughing, and that'd be where it stuck.
But lack of practice/skill is definitely a huge issue too; it's a completely different set of techniques to learn (especially if you get into the inverted stuff).
> Username suggests I like the same routes as you.
Bit of a giveaway, yes. Unfortunately for me (and my climbing partners), I also like offwidths. I'm not claiming to be good at them, I just suffer from a tragic compulsion to wedge myself into them, so I'm trying to get less terrible in order to mitigate the suffering.