Hear me out. Dirt jumpers are great, but I find them too squirrely for some of the bigger hits. I wanted something fast, fun, and capable on jumps but not too small or unwieldy.
Enter: the Trail Jumper. Take an aggressive hardtail (Nukeproof Scout, Kona Honzo, Commencal Meta HT, etc.) and slam the seat, remove the dropper, convert it to single speed, pump up the fork a little, and run some faster tires (not pictured but I have tan-wall Rekons on it now and they are kick ass). I dropped the stem a little lower for more leverage, and pumped up the tires +7psi for better sidewall stability.
I like the bigger tires, especially with the sandy soil we have here in NC. Plus having a front brake is crucial for last minute bail outs or if you want to shred urban. It's maneuverable enough for some tricking, but not so twitchy as a 26" DJ or 20" BMX. Added bonus, since I kept a few cogs from my cassette on here and use a tensioner that fits the derailleur hanger, I can quickly switch to "trail mode" for some of the flatter trails here.
I’ve got an old mountain bike that I’m planning to tinker with, probably convert to a single speed gravel bike. I’m pretty new to that world, so I’m curious, why have a single speed mtb?
Mostly for the weight and simplicity. In my case, I just need it to go fast for jumping.