GoPro Video of Main trail 462 in the Cedro Peak riding area inside of Cibola National Forrest.
GoPro Video of the Coyote-Chamisoso Link trail in the Cedro Peak riding area inside of Cibola National Forrest.
First Impressions: As soon as I entered the park, I realized that the entire mountain is open to riding and I couldn’t wait to get going.
Property type: Cedro Peak is located inside the Cibola National Forest. Permits are required to ride; you can go here to order online. The closest office in Albuquerque, at least 30 minutes away from the park entrance, so order online if you can. Fees for not having a riding permit range from $150 to getting kicked out.
Time of year: The first time I went was the last weekend in September, the weather was perfect, and the trails weren’t too crowded.
Location: Cedro Peak is located East of Albuquerque New Mexico off of I40, the park’s northern entrance is through Tijeras NM. Get a map to Cedro Peak here.
Elevation: 6,000 to 7,500ft
Trail Type: The majority of the trails are single track. There’s one ATV track (that I found), and a few Jeep trails that bisect the park. I liked the Cedro Peak Jeep trail because it let me get to a specific part of the park quickly. Allowing me to save gas, time, and energy.
Terrain: Cedro Peak is a mountain. Almost every trail will consist of rocks in a hard pack. I found a few hard-packed tracks in valleys, but they were just fast and straight. When I did find some wet parts of the trail, they were sloppy.
Type of Riding: The trails on the mountain ranged from medium to Holy SH!T! Most of the trails were rocky with gradual inclines (like Coyote-Chamisoso), a few trails (like Delbert’s Trial) were extremely tight, and I suspect they were meant for mountain bikes. I found a few trails that were extremely steep and rocky with switchbacks all the way up. I wouldn’t recommend this park to beginners unless you’re with an experienced rider to help you through tough parts.
Outstanding Features: Some unique parts of Cedro Peak were the variety of difficulty, the length of the trails, and the speed of the trails, I rode 30 miles in 2hrs just wondering around.
Weather: The weather was cool with some rain. The weather hitting the mountains after coming off of Albuquerque’s heat bubble can be fairly unpredictable.
Facilities: Vault toilets at most trailheads
Camping: There was only one official campground on the mountain by reservation only. However, there is plenty of disbursement camping throughout the trail system.
Length of stay: I would recommend a weekend stay. Set Up Camp on Friday, ride Saturday all day and Sunday morning. If you can physically ride longer, I would!
The people there: Everyone I talked to at the trailheads and on the trail was friendly for the most part. There were a lot of mountain bikers. When you go around them on the trail, they will either give you a wave or the stink eye. Just be considerate, and everyone will have a good time.
Final Word: Worth the drive. I was staying in Las Vegas NM when I made the trip to Cedro Peak. It was about a two-hour drive both ways. I made the trip twice in one month before I left Las Vegas. If you are within 4 hours of Cedro Peak, get your buddy’s and make the trip happen, it’s a great ride!
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GoPro Video of Powerline trail in the Cedro Peak riding area inside of Cibola National Forrest.
GoPro Video of Delbert’s Trail in the Cedro Peak riding area inside of Cibola National Forrest.
Picture Gallery of the Cedro Peak Riding Area inside the Cibola National Forrest East of Albuquerque New Mexico
Cedro Peak is located just east of Albuquerque New Mexico inside the Cibola National Forrest.
You probably already know how to change your dirt bike handlebar grip, but how do you do it? This video will give you two new tricks to try that will make your grips easier to change, won’t damage your bars, and will make your grips last longer.
Get some new dirt bike grips on Amazon.
Related: Grip on your dirtbike takes so much more than hands!
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Remember: You Can Get All The Parts And Tools You Need At Amazon.com!
Will this 1997 Honda CR 250 make a good trail bike? Make sure to check out the full Honda CR250 Trail Bike Conversion!
If you have any questions or anything to add, please leave them in the comments or on our FaceBook page!
I picked up this 1997 Honda CR250 (2-stroke) for about $700 in the summer of 2013. And I’m still not sure if I overpaid. The bike starts and runs just fine, so that’s a plus. There are only a few things on this CR that need to be fixed, but they are also the most important.
The Plan: Since I will need to completely rebuild the suspension and replace the exhaust, I saw an opportunity to make a killer two-stroke trail bike. 1997 was the first year of the aluminum chassis for the Honda CR250, so I was already at a weight advantage. The bike is a kickstart, but since it turns over so quickly, I can probably get by without an electric starter.
Before I tried anything, I needed to get this Honda CR250 setup for what I wanted to do. I ordered new sprockets, grips, bark busters, and handlebar risers to testing my idea. If my test works out, I will have a good idea of what needs to be done to make this woods conversion run with ACTUAL Honda trail bikes like the CR250x. I bought everything on this list from Amazon.com to save as much money as I could. I have added links for you so you can find what you need for your trail bike conversion at the best price possible.
Handlebar Grips: I upgraded to Oury MX grips. I wanted to make a point about these grips because they are cheaper than factory replacements; they are super comfortable and stay tacky when wet. I’ve been putting these grips on every machine I’ve ever owned, and I highly recommend them.
Handlebar Risers: I installed the handlebar risers because I am 6’6” and don’t like feeling like a circus bear on a tricycle. I went with the Rox Speed FX Pivoting Handlebar Risers with a 2” rise. I got the 2” version so I could get enough rise without straining the cables, and the pivoting lets me put the handlebars forward without having to roll the bars to an uncomfortable angle.
Hand Guards (Bark Busters): Since this is a motocross bike, It didn’t have any protection. And since I’m going to try and do technical stuff with this bike, I might as well spend $30 and save my fingers when I do try to climb a tree. I went with Tusk aluminum handguards because I don’t trust plastic ones.
Sprockets: For the countershaft sprocket (front), I went with a 12 tooth Sunstar for $22, and the rear sprocket a JT Sprockets 53 tooth for $30. Now I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I am aware that that is an insane combination, but here’s why I did it.
The Honda CR250 is a two Stroke designed for motocross. I knew that most of the power would be in the mid to high RPM range. By installing the 12t/53t sprocket setup, I was able to utilize the power in the mid RPM range at slow speeds. Now I have all the torque I can handle for tight woods riding without overheating the clutch.
This will let me cruise in second gear through tight woods trails without needing to shift. I’m ALWAYS in the powerband. The CR250’s horsepower range is around 45hp. I’ll be able to pull the front wheel with a quick twist of the throttle, saving my clutch and adding to the fun. Having this kind of acceleration and torque makes hill climbs more fun too.
Obviously, I’m not going to have a high top speed with this setup, but that’s fine with me, considering I rarely get to 4th gear anyway. And since the engine is always where it needs to be, it reduces stalling dramatically.
My initial investment of $175 proved that this bike is a good candidate for a complete trail bike conversion. All these parts needed to be installed even if the bike wouldn’t have made a good trail bike, that’s why I went with the inexpensive brands like Sunstar and Tusk instead of Renthal. It turns out the cheap stuff works just fine for fun, now I’m curious how long they will last.
The next step is going to be fixing the exhaust and suspension. There are so many options available at this point for a good exhaust pipe. I’m going to have to do some research to find what works. My main concern is how the new pipe will affect my current sprocket setup. I don’t want to spend more money than I have to.
The suspension rebuild will give me another opportunity. I’ll be able to install springs that have the proper rate for my weight (I’m 340lb on a good day). Make sure to check back to see how this 1997 Honda CR 250 trail bike conversion is going!
If you have any questions or anything to add, please leave them in the comments or on our FaceBook page!