We used to call them "Wood Pile Bikes" because they were almost always left outside leaning up against a pile of firewood through the years. I straight up tell people that you can buy functional cheap bikes for $40 at yard sales (this has changed as of late), and politely as possible decline the work. I quit working on "Buddy Jobs" long ago, unless the "client" is someone who can't afford the LBS. OP: IME there is little chance of the bikes ever being ridden after your time, money, and energy is put into them. The typical middle-class adult who buys a department store bike likes the idea of biking for exercise or enjoyment, but the actual riding of the bike never seems to occur.