Newbie needs help: Should the crank rotate freely when I do it by hand?

[smaamari]

So I got a second hand bike just as a beginner experience to try cycling in the city. Of course i didn't know how to test it for all the problems it might have. My question is, should the crank rotate freely when i do it by hand? For me it sounds pretty normal that i can adjust the crank and pedal position to be able to start the first step of biking. For some reason the pedal/crank seem stuck at a stationary position unless I start cycling with some force which is also hard as the pedal position is already down( 6 oclock) in the starting position. What could be the problem?

 

[Drago]

What sort of bike is it?

 

[Spiderweb]

Sounds like a fixed wheel?
Can you post a pic of the bike.

 

[andrew_s]

On a normal bike, looked at from the right-hand side, the cranks/pedals won't move clockwise without moving the whole bike (normal pedaling), but should move freely in the anticlockwise, backpedaling, direction.

Exceptions are if...
You have a fixed wheel bike, where the pedals don't move unless the wheel's going round, and conversely won't stop moving if the wheel's going round.
or...
You have a coaster brake, where attempting to pedal backwards applies the back brake. On such a bike, the pedals won't move backwards even if the back wheel is lifted off the ground. Coaster brakes are common in Holland, but quite rare in the UK.