1988 Shogun Prairie Breaker Team Issue

Besides having historical significance as a great mass-produced late 1980’s Japanese mountain bike, this Shogun has to be noted for the name. The “Prairie Breaker” is probably the only mountain bike with a name that evokes images of flat farm land, not rocky mountain trails.
So that part of the name was an interesting choice. Plus I’m pretty sure that Shogun had no team to “issue” these machines.

Anyhow, here’s a slick bike from 1988. Built with quality Tange Prestige tubing and outfitted with Shimano’s Deore XT component group, this was a superb (if not a little predictable) bike that offered a good value and reliable off-road performance.

“Triple triangle” frame design

Shogun Prairie Breaker

With the seatstays connected forward of the seat tube juncture it would easy to think this is a rip-off of the more popular GT brand with their triple-triangle frame design. To that we’d have to say that GT was merely popularizing a frame style that has been around since the 1930’s.
Designing a bike with forward mounted seat stays is an easy way to stiffen up the rear end of the bike and add some pizzazz. The normal problems associated with this design had to do with rear brake interference, but Shimano’s chainstay mounted U-brake made those issues a moot point with this bike.
The Prairie Breaker was outfitted with all of the parts that made mountain bikes from this era awesome.

Biopace rings

Deore XT U-brake

Shimano’s Indexed shifting

There are the eliptical Biopace chainrings from Shimano. Big brake levers that have room for all of your fingers at the same time. Araya RM-20 rims. Shimano “click” shifting with 18 speeds. Flat and narrow Tange Prestige handlebars. Deore XT pedals with toe clips and straps. There was a quick release for the seat (you could add a Hite-Rite spring), Big blocky rubber grips, a bottom bracket with actual ball bearings and headset only 1″ in diameter. Good stuff.

1988 Shogun Prairie Breaker Team Issue