tkamd73 

Fixing bikes for friends can get to be expensive, of course there are other tangibles to be considered. For goods friends I’m glad to do it, but lately have been more upfront about the cost, so as to avoid working on junk bikes.
Just had a friend bring me a 73 Schwinn Collegiate, that his wife found in a rummage sale for 10 bucks, and fell in love with. Bike looked like it hadn’t even been ridden 10 miles. He wanted a new wheelset, dual pivot brakes, and indexed shifting. I told him it would be cheaper to buy new, and showed him the new Schwinn Collegiate which is actually a very nice bike.
We settled on just completely going over what he had, and 278 dollars later they are both happy. I still lost money on the deal, but they are good friends, and I learned that it is impossible to make an old 5 speed derailleur Schwinn index shift.
Tim

Chuck M 

That Collegiate reminds me that I have a women's '73 Suburban that I don't particularly want for anything. If I thought they wouldn't neglect it like the bikes they brought me, I would give it to her and take her Kent to the dumpster.

308jerry

Bless you, I wish there were more people like you in the world... They sound like good people, as they give their time freely, or so it sounds...

Ironfish653

It’s a tough one; there’s ‘restoring a bike’ and restoring a bike to functionality.
This is a case of the latter.
It’s hard, when you’re working on someone else’s bike (especially as a favor) not to put in all the attention to details that you would on one of your own bikes. ​​​​​

In the OP’s case, unless the owner is willing to supply a bunch of new parts, it’d try to get those bikes functioning on as many original parts as possible.
New parts cost money and cleaning and refinishing old parts takes a lot of time, neither of which you should be expected to provide totally free of charge

Those bikes definitely need new chains, ( and I guess attention to the tires/ tubes) but unless you either have parts on hand, or the owners are willing to supply them, you can probably restore adequate function to the shifting and braking by lubing and adjusting the original parts.

It may not be up to your standards, but it may be as good as it was when it was new (especially on a cheap bike) and perfectly acceptable to the owner of such a bike.

Iride01 

They look in much better shape than the department store bikes I bought for my children when they were preteen and teen. After they rode them in the mud then left them in the rain unused for a few days they rusted up pretty well.

Just spraying some WD-40 or some other very light lube on them and adjusting what needed adjusting would let them be good till the next time they abused them.

You should just learn that rust is a look that some perhaps like. Just fix the flats, lube the chain and adjust what needs adjusting. Seems like you've acquired some bigger kids to care for! <grin>

philbob57

Right. You need to learn to say, 'No.' It's better for you and for freeloaders, too. I'd suggest telling them what it will cost to restore the bikes to rideability for bot parts and reasonable labor, so that they understand what they're asking for, and so they can refuse if they realize it's more than they want to spend. That would be the kindest thing you can do for them

Camilo

If someone asks me to look at their bike, I'll be happy to adjust the shifting and brakes. But if it needs any parts beyond tires or tubes, I tell them it needs parts and they need to take it to a bike shop. I have no problem saying this and it's never caused any hard feelings. I don't understand people who can't or are afraid to nicely say no.

SkinGriz

Well you could also look at it like “If I paid for a burger or brat from a restaurant for every time I ate what he grilled at church…”

I’d still ask for a pie or 2 out of the deal.
But I just really like pies.
My wife makes a really good pie crust and more spice with less sugar in her apple pie.

csport

My 5c. It is not clear what the question is. Yes, you should learn to say no. From what you are saying it looks like you have some psychological traumas which result in having a hard time saying no and you are masquerading those traumas using theology. I am also a home mechanic who helped some people fix the bikes (as it is my hobby), including a pastor in the church. If I already had (new or gently used) the parts, I just installed them. If I had to order anything (chain, kickstand etc.) he returned me the money for it. It is not a question of the cost, but a question of having healthy boundaries.

Are the owners of the bikes you are working on the "people in need" like a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores?

Is there a problem with saying no to them and having a happier heart for them? I am not trolling here.

Edit: Yes, I had similar stories. Many years ago I helped an old lady in the church to rescue and old MacBook (PowerPC one) which had no OS. It took me a while to set up Xubuntu on it. She looked happy. After a few months her new neighbor from the place upstate she moved to calls me. She was writing her book on a new PC laptop she bought in MS Office she bought as well and she accidentally deleted all the content and saved the file. He tried to recover the file for her, but was not able to do it (btw, she kept using the computer and rebooted several times after the loss of the file), the question was if I knew any way to do it. If she was willing to pay for a new laptop (OK) and MS Office (Libreoffice or even WordPad would work for her), why did I spend all the time rescuing the old piece of junk for her? I just said no.

SpedFast

Anyone heard of "Paying it Forward" ?

Juan Foote

Being nice is one thing. Offering to change out some tubes is a relatively easy thing and certainly within the spirit of fellowship you are talking about. These bikes are a project and TBH you probably should have stood up for yourself and the amount of work they needed when you first saw them. These are a FAR beyond some simple work and you should be interested in being compensated for the level required. Feel like your best bet is to call them back, discuss the real parts and time these are going to take along with a low price for doing so and ask how interested they really are.

My foresight says you are going to get these back up and running just to sit in the weather and look like this again, soon. Don't be a doormat.

Juan Foote

Paying forward is one thing, and of course we have no idea what the level of friendship or past deeds have been in regard to these folks. At the same time being taken advantage of is a whole other boat.

tkamd73 

Yes I’m sure most of us have, a noble endeavor, but one has to draw the line at wrenching on a pos, for someone who can easily afford a decent bike.
Tim

csport

So does mine.

Can all these concerns be addressed by telling them that you do this as an hobby and you work at your own pace? There is no ETA. (If they need an ETA they can go to the LBS or got to Wal-Mart and buy a new BSO.) Most of the people at these forums enjoy doing mechanical work, and we know that happy feeling when you restore a bike. Then you can have some fun and they can get their bikes restored at some point. Just set their expectations honestly.

Ttom

I think when you get through they will ride them once or twice park them again, just like last time.

Chuck M 

I've decided it best if I replace one tube, replace one brake cable and WD40 the chains and freewheels until they free up and then oil them. I think most of the predictions that they won't be used any more or taken better care of than they have been are correct.

Milton Keynes

Yeah, it was a movie starring Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt, and Keven Spacey.

base2 

While it is important to have "a servants heart" boundaries are important. Lube a chain, squirt lube in the housings, adjust the brakes, fix a flat. No parts. Just labor. Draw the line at 2 hours labor per & send them on their way. I wouldn't even wipe them down with a moist rag...Care is the owners responsibility.

The customer was satisfied & happy when the bike was new, right?
It's sad but they are as good as they are going to get & likely are better functioning now than when they were new. So, you've done your good deed & the served should be thankful.

Base2
(who fixes BSO's for a living at a nonprofit)

venturi95

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.

Chuck M 

An old woman at work told me today that the Schwinn cruiser she bought on Amazon will be delivered Friday. Guess who will probably be asked to put it together or at least fix the undoubtable shifting issues she will have.

Milton Keynes

Well at least if it's new then you can get it set up and adjusted properly before she rides it once, then leaves it sit outside in the weather for a few years.

Koyote

I once saw a bumper sticker that read, "Yes, this is my truck. No, I won't help you move."

I subsequently kept my eyes open for such a sticker, as I wanted one on my truck; never found one.

Murray Missile 

I used to be the local "bike guy" in our small town as the closest LBS is 30 miles away and at the height of the Covid crap I was swamped and I was also flipping a fair number of bikes. One day, I'm not sure why, but I started thinking about what would happen of something did fail, my fault or not, so I now turn people away except for family and close friends, I don't need that kind of grief.

Milton Keynes

I run an automotive shop but also do a little work on bicycles, obviously since I'm a cyclist myself. Generally this mainly consists of fixing bicycle tires, but one day a customer brought in his grandson's mountain bike which had been left outside in the rain, and he wanted me to fix it up for him. It wouldn't shift gears, front derailleur or back, and needed new inner tubes. Plus one of the grips was completely missing. So I replaced the cables which had rusted, ordered and replaced the twist shifters, one of which had broken, and put new tubes in the tires. Then put on new handlebar grips. Also replaced the brake cables which were also rusty and very iffy. So after around $100 of work I had fixed the bike up to rideable condition. The customer was very impressed and liked how I had fixed it up, and I said to make sure it doesn't get left out in the rain again.

A month or two later he brought in yet another bike asking if I could fix it up, but it was way beyond being worth working on. Like the other bike, it was a department store bike, but this one was in very very poor condition, missing brakes and a few other parts. I simply told him that this one was too far gone, and by the time he paid to have it rebuilt he could go to Walmart and get a brand new one cheaper. He asked if I wanted it for parts, but I declined. There really wasn't anything worth salvaging on that bike.

SpedFast

I do get that a lot, especially from neighbors that I've fixed their bike for free. They feel it's a way of paying me for what I do. But sadly, most bikes that are donated or even left outside my place usually just end up in the dumpster, there just isn't anything on them worth salvaging due to rust or corrosion.