General Cycling Discussion - spinning pedals on their axle

Maybe a silly question, but on my bikes when I was a kid, you could spin the platform pedals around their spindle really fast. With the new bike/pedals, they spin smoothly without grinding, but with a fluid-like resistance. Is that just the way they are now? I didnt notice anything until my dad pointed this out. I've had the performance Forte Campus pedal and now Eggbeater SL, both brand new and with about the same overall resistance to spinning.

The pedals of olde had loose ball bearings. Modern mostly have sealed and packed bearings. A free spin does not necessarily mean less friction under load.

When you were younger- your Dad had to maintain your bikes and I dare say it was an old one and pedals would never get maintained. They probably had no grease and were just about on the verge of wearing them out.

You have now graduated to a decent bike with decent components and it is well maintained. You haven't ridden the bike far enough to wear it out so get out and ride.

Or it could be the sealed bearings on the "Quality" pedals that cause resistance.

Some new pedals spin slowly because of the style of bearings and seals while others spin slowly out-of-the-box simply because they are adjusted too tight at The Pedal Factory. Had to take apart and loosen the bearings on my new Nashbar Sport spd-style pedals that I put on last week. Very nice pedals after they were adjusted correctly. This is a common situation with new pedals.
Other Nashbar mountain-style spd pedals that I have used multiple pairs of have required no bearing adjustment/maintenance and do spin slighly slowly likely related to bearing seals.