The old wheels are fine.
Bhakta das : Jayananda had said these wheels of the chariots are all wearing out and they're dangerous, they're too big and they're too heavy, and we need to replace them. He wanted to make steel wheels with the spokes. So he had this welder making new wheels, and the night before the Rathayatra we went and put new wheels on Jagannatha's chariot and Balarama's chariot, not on Subhadra's chariot. Her chariot was relatively easy to navigate compared to the other two. So we pulled the chariots, testing the new wheels, and there was no problem. The next morning, of course, the parade starts, and as soon as we started pulling the chariots these new wheels collapsed. Instead of being round, they became octagons. Between each spoke, the steel collapsed. So the chariots were bouncing, and I was horrified because the vibration was so intense. Fortunately, Srila Prabhupada was on Subhadra's cart. But what was remarkable is that I had written Srila Prabhupada and told him that we were making new wheels, and he had written me back and said, "The old wheels are fine. Don't change anything. This is your American disease." But by the time we'd gotten the letter, the old wheels had already been thrown away and the new wheels were done. So Jayananda reassured me, he said, "No, no, there is no problem." But then it was like Prabhupada's words had to be fulfilled. So as soon as that parade started, the new wheels collapsed and I could hear Prabhupada's voice say, "Stick with the old wheels."
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Bhakta Dasa
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