The dispersion of the composite-fermion cyclotron-resonance mode is measured with an optical detection scheme under the combined excitation of microwave radiation and a surface acoustic wave from an interdigital transducer. The slowly traveling surface wave defines the transferred wave vector. Momenta up to 10(8) m(-1) are accessible. The cyclotron-resonance mode exhibits strong negative dispersion, which suggests predominant short range residual interaction among composite fermions. From an extrapolation, the cyclotron mass at k=0 is obtained and investigated as a function of electron density.