My website / blog "SynthFan.info" once did an interview with Darwin Grosse from Cycling ’74 where this question was also addressed. You can check the interview here:
http://synthfan.info/2011/09/17/my-interview-with-cycling-74/
And when asked "Where did the name of your company come from" this is what he had to say:
"Well, the word "Cycle" is important to the beginnings of Cycling ’74, because the cycle~ object was one of the first objects (from MSP, the company’s first product) that was used for testing audio capabilities of a computer.
It just so happened that there was a Schwinn 1974 catalog on the table when a company name had to be decided upon; since the idea of 74 cycle~ objects was sort of a great dream, and the (somewhat goofy) pictures of the Schwinn catalog were so cool, it just naturally developed from there.
Of course, now doing 74 cycle~ objects is a no-brainer for any computer, and we no longer are using "appropriated" Schwinn catalog images for our website, but it was a cool (and very typically Cycling ’74) way of kicking things off."
