Originally Posted by Ozrider

The other wrenches and I at the LBS I work at looked at the pictures. Here, based on the pictures alone, is our theory:

First, a fact - this is not a high end wheel. It may say Mavic, but is one of their lower offerings.

Now, the theory: judging from the cracks around the spoke farrells that survived, it looks the spokes were over tensioned. You can see where some of the other spokes are pulling out. It is possible - I have seen it done - to tension spokes to the point where they will break or they will put the rim badly out of true. It is possible that the last time the wheel was trued, somebody got a little too boistrous with the spoke key. If a number of spokes were too tight - combined with the normal stresses caused by a rolling wheel and the fact this wasn't the best wheel in the world - it is possible for the wheel to explode.

At least, that's our theory.