I agree with rhand182 to a point. Are you talking about beating your buddy in a straight line or through the twisty bits?? If the latter, it comes down to how good a rider you are- You could put a novice on a GP bike and an experienced rider on a bog-standard sports tourer and the GP bike would...
I'm thinking of buying a beach cruiser bicycle on ebay made in China by a company called Sunlova. Have you bought a bike made by this company and if so; what is it like?