Pedals difficult to turn

Apologies for the noob question, but cycling to work this morning, pedalling got progressively harder and then I couldn't turn the pedals at all - it was like they were stuck.

After turning the pedals backwards, it seemed to loosen up a little and I could pedal for a whole before they got stuck again.

After pedalling backwards again, it freed it up and after repeating a few times, the problem seemed to have disappeared.

Could anyone tell me what has happened/is happening?

Many thanks

broken innit, can you get at the bearings in them?

What is broken exactly?

The bottom bracket?

maybe i sent you a loooong message :-/

Depends where the resistance is

If the resistance is in the middle then your bottom bracket needs looking at.
If the resistance is where the peddle spins then your peddle bearings need looking at.

i think the axles / bearing are just knackered
on some pedals you can remove the spline and re grease the bits and pieces
some pedals just need to be trashed

per the above the circle on the outside of the pedal can be removed allowing you access to the internals strip re grease and see if it works any better

Sounds like you were going over a hill :)

sounds like the lock nut on cup and cone bearing was loose - if it got looser when you turned them back, it means that the 'cone' part is free to move and so is tightening and loosening itsself depending on the direction of rotation. Whack off the end caps, set the cones where they want to be (free movement and minimal play) then carefully tighten the locknuts. May as well wack a bit of fresh grease in there while you're at it, if you have some.

If the resistance is where the peddle spins then your peddle bearings need looking at.

Pedals, this is a cycling forum, ffs!

The pedals themselves seem to be fine

The BB is a TH industries 7420ST, Square, 68*103mm - from a Charge Plug Grinder

I'll have a quick look at the lock nut now

Thanks guys - you are all awesome

^^ as someone who has lambasted folk on tyre/tire and brake/break I am thoroughly ashamed of myself.

If anyone is interested in the end result, it turned out to be the bottom bracket - one end of it was loose. So loose that when I took off the crank, I turned it a few rotations by hand and it came off.

It looked as if when I was pedalling, the end of the BB was rubbing up against the crank, stopping it from turning. Pedalling backwards screwed it back in and when I pedalled forwards, it came loose again and got stuck

True story...

What kind of bottom bracket is it? Cartridge with separate cups on both ends?