Bicycle rentals throughout Europe

Each city is going to have different systems, so this is a hard question to answer generally. I would suggest that you ask in each country forum listing the specific city you will visit.

I can comment that a bike in Salzburg is really not necessary to get around (probably a hindrance, really) as the sights are very compact.

When I've rented a bicycle in Munich, it came with a lock.

Second the opinion about bikes in Salzburg. The Altstadt isn't very big. It would be easier simply to walk. The old town of Prague's a little bigger, but the streets get so crowded that you would need to basically walk the bike through anyway. Munich and Amsterdam are far more bike friendly.

What other cities?

Thanks for the advice. Itinerary is Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam,Prague, rothenburg, Munich, Salzburg, Hallstatt, Venice, Florence, cinque Terra, Rome, Barcelona

We rent bikes in Europe a lot... the only place on your list we rented though was Bruges. Every bike we've ever rented has come with a lock (they don't want their bikes stolen) and a helmet if we want one (at no extra charge).

We brought our own helmets.

http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dib/disease/head-lice/

"Head lice move between people when their heads have direct contact. Lice cannot fly or jump from one person to another but may move from one person to another by sharing objects such as combs, brushes, hats...."

Brussels isn't a good city for biking either. Traffic is usually pretty heavy, the city landscape is hilly and designated cycling paths are rare. Brugge- better for bikes. The only time I lodged in the city, my hotel provided the bikes and it came with a lock. Rothenburg is too small to justify a bike, and the surrounding area isn't that interesting for cycling.

You might have a romantic idea about riding bikes in Europe, but I doubt the reality is what you have in mind. You have listed some very large cities (Rome, Barcelona, for example), places I would only dream of riding a bike if I had a death wish. On the flip side, you have listed some smaller towns (Salzburg, which I have already commented on, and Hallstatt, for example). These towns are so compact and small that a bike doesn't make sense. Amsterdam, that might be ok. Venice, no way.

You might want to look at taking a bicycle tour in some of these places so that you have guidance. I say this because many cities (such as Vienna where I live) have very strict rules about where you can ride your bike and how. There are police here that specifically look for bike rule breakers. You cannot ride on the sidewalk here, for example.

I do own a bike, but only ride it in recreational areas like large parks or along the river. Areas like this, however, tend to be far from the tourist sites. I know that you are not coming to Vienna, but this advice easily transfers.

http://grist.org/cities/an-american-in-denmark-close-encounters-with-european-bicycle-culture/

Many European cities have a critical mass of bicyclists. Motorist are also bicyclist and expect to share the road. European cyclist also seem to ride with confidence. I was amazed to watch cyclist riding around the Arc de Triomphe traffic circle without fear. And Denmark is the poster case for a bike culture. Go for it!

Our experience with bike rentals in Europe is that they always come with an attached wheel lock that locks the back wheel. Keeps the bike from being rolled away but not carried away but then most of the rentals are pretty heavy utility bikes. We do carry a bike cable lock - about three feet - that we often use to secure our luggage on trains so we just cable the two bikes together if we cannot find something more solid. We have never had any problems but we do try to keep a close eye on the bikes when parked. If you use clips, you will have to bring your own pedals. On organized bike tours with bikes provided we bring our own pedals, saddles, and helmets but not for general rentals.
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I vote for the Netherlands was the poster child for bike culture. The bike park in front of the train station in Amsterdam must have 25,000 bikes parked there.