An SC beach bike doesn't need gears nor narrow tires. It's gearing is not the best for hills as it's set up as a low end racer. It probably lacks eyelets for racks at the rear dropout too.
For diverse uses, I would be looking at a Trek fx series, 7.1, 7.3, of 7.5. Also, a steel MTB, setup with road slicks, or a Trek Multitrack hybrid. Avoid front suspension bikes too, not necessary in LA, your roads are pretty good, just there a minth ago.
Last edited by oddjob2; 08-24-14 at 01:56 AM.