My company (MakaiBikes.com) is doing a little market research and wants to know how many people out there on Yahoo would buy a beach cruiser bicycle even if they don't live at the beach?
To answer, the style seems to be highly driven by pop culture. There are countless questions on this site asking what bikes are the Jonas Bros. riding or Paris Hilton etc. or whomever the latest Teeny Bop sensation is in one video or another. So I think it has little to do with local or functionality but perception.
My brother has a some cruisers, and I've ridden them on the Huntington-Newport-Balboa Island boardwalk. They're fine for that, but useless for my serious riding here in the Midwest. You might get a few takers for Chicago's Lakefront path.
When it is labeled "beach" cruiser it will have limited appeal. Cruiser is a more general term. Town and Country Cruiser (my copyright) for the beach and recreational riding around neighborhoods and parks.
