In Austin you provide your own bike and work for tips only.
Your buddy is right depending on the company. Capital pedicap provides bikes welded right to the cab. others attach at the seatpost. I worked with capital and it was awesome, but i quit because i really enjoy having weekends. The rent worked on a sliding scale at Capital. You give a percentage of what you made, and after a certain point it was capped at $40. Either way, I never walked away with less than 100.