Odyssey Homer

As my good friend 'anonymous' has noted countless times in the comments section of various posts, I like Odyssey. Not in the explicit way that has often been suggested, but in a "wow, they're a company that does things the right way" sort of way. I've never met any of the guys in person, but I've e-mailed with Chris Cotsonas and Nuno Oliveira and Ben Ward (and, to a lesser extent, Jim Bauer) for years. A bunch of us have New York roots. And while I've never met any of them, I consider them friends.

It's strange, because when the company first appeared, Odyssey was...different. Yes, there was the revolutionary Gyro. But there were also Flying Wedge bars, drilled-out brake calipers and levers (ahead of their time!) and the notorious Barefeet tires. Later, there was the Xtro hub, and the tinfoil fork that went with it. If there were riders designing the products, they must not have ridden much.

But early this decade, things started to change. It started at the tail end of the "overbuilt is better" era. Hazard rims. Milk Bars. The Richard Gear. Then the floodgates opened. An affordable cassette hub, Hazard Lites, Civilian Bars, Race Forks, Jim C and Twisted PC pedals. Items that quickly became BMX staples. And when G-Sport's George French joined forces with the in-house guys, things got even more fun. The Elementary stem. The Director fork. Wombolt cranks. Plegs. The Elementary was absurdly light, yes, but it also addressed an old problem (how to hold your handlebars to your forks) in an entirely new way. Rather than just drilling and machining an old design and calling it new, Odyssey innovated. Leading is much harder than following, especially in a trend-driven market like BMX.

There were problems, of course. First-generation Wombolts broke, cassettes ghost-pedaled, Elementaries slipped. But the same problems were immediately addressed. Odyssey has a huge online presence, as well as one of the best warranty 'divisions' in the business. If you have a question or a concern, an e-mail or post on any BMX messageboard will usually be met with a quick (and helpful) response.

All that said, I have to call them as I see them. And their new CFL frontload stem, while pretty with all its laser engraving and color options, seems to be a little, dare I say, superfluous? Late to the party. For a company that's built its reputation on innovation to introduce a 53mm reach, 11.something ounce frontloader now just doesn't set right.



It's not that I have a problem with the product itself—it doesn't appear to be machined to death or anything—it's more that, with so many similar products already on the market (including the welcome return of the original Solid stem), I thought Odyssey would go in a different direction. Bring something new to the table. Say, a longer Elementary, or one with rise (if that's even possible). The CFL is fine, it just seems unnecessary. Kind of like its namesake.