The beach cruiser bike was created during the time of the Great Depression when the sales of normal bikes were on a rapid decline. It was originally created and developed by the popular bike company known as, Schwinn. At first this type of bike was considered to be an extreme luxury and was only used for recreational purposes and occasionally for sports.
During the start of the 1970's the design of the beach cruiser bike served as an inspiration in manufacturing mountain bikes. A mountain bike is more of an all terrain bike but is preferably used for off road rides, such as going downhill or racing. People would take the old cruisers and remove the fenders to make them more suitable for adventurous rides.
Cruisers were first popular during the 1930s and 1940s; gaining success after the war. At first they were used by those who delivered newspapers or parcels. Quickly it went from being a single speed terrain bike to having three speeds and then, even more. And its weight came down from a good fifty pounds to forty pounds or less. Their popularity stooped way down during the 1950's, but in the recent past, its popularity has bounced back, and bounced back hard.