What does it mean to free-lock?
 

prolly a quick answer kind of question, but I searched and found nothing.

fixedgear gallery
what does he mean by free-locking?
-durty

Locking the front and/or rear wheel to the frame without anchoring the bike to anything stationary.

Locking the bike to itself and not to an immovable object.

It means locking so that someone can pick up and take your bike for free.
Like locking the front wheel to the downtube, or rear wheel to the seat tube or stay.

is that a BK? the paint looks sex...

Word, thanks guys.

I can't imagine doing that and not still having the bike in my sight. I would only free-lock if I was going to be just far enough away that someone could ride off faster than I could get there, but I could still chase them down if they were running off w/my (currently immobile) bike.
-durty

Depends on where you live
 

I was amazed that almost eveyone seems to do that in Zürich. Oh, that and eat impossible amounts of unpastruized cheese.
ummm.

We did that constantly in my messin' days. Freelock, leaning against the office building door, and go drop the package.
I think the mainstream's fascination with all things messenger may have taken freelocking out messing these days, though I could be wrong.

I'll do it when I'm running into a coffee shop for a quick re-fill. Most people around my parts take bikes left for long periods of time. I see some guys not even lock up for 5 to 10 minutes sometimes but I also know a few who have to walk around now :)

i use a mini u-lock and free lock all the time, but only in the proper situations. -like when i'm going into a familiar building where i know running into the messenger center and back out will only take 15 seconds / if i have to go into a storefront or something where my bike stays visible through the window.

That sounds silly! i would never "free lock". I love my bike too much to take that chance!

As a messenger there are some times when I free lock my bike... this happens when I have nothing to lock my bike to.

Most of the time I am locking up to parking meters, signs etc and then I am putting the lock around the top tube... my wheels and seat post have no quick releases.

This is because you would have to be the dumbest thief on the planet to try and steal one of the messenger's bikes here... there are only 20 of us working in a small downtown and the risk of being caught by the owner or another messenger is extremely high.

If I was to catch someone trying to jack one of the guy's bikes they would find themselves u-locked to a post.

i once read a theft ad on craigslist. someone stole a bike right off the bike rack in the front of muni bus in san francisco, it was an IRO by the way. ever since then i always free-lock my front tire to my downtube when it's on the bike rack.. i never worry about it anymore.. unless there's a thief who can ride a wheelie without ever setting the front wheel down :P

free lock == free loot.

This is pretty true, so you better be hauling that fetch to another city.

ahem: is that a bk? if so, orig. paint? looks kinda sex.

the only times i've ever free locked(i guess it counts) were this one night when a friend of mine stopped at a diner on our way home from a ride and locked them together. we could see our bikes through the window though.