Pimp bikes do anything but make up for lack of riding ability, i should know lol 

I thought the bike to work scheme had a limit of about £1000 for the bike?

The socom frame is about £2500 isnt it?

I think you'l get done on the scheme. As far as I remember the limit was £1500 for a bike, £1800(ish) to £2500 for just a frame is well beyond it.

A lot of the schemes (like those using Halfords) will now only supply complete bikes. Limit depends on the employer, but definetly nowhere near a Socom Frame!

Depending on the company you go through, there are limits.

Generally though, most companies will say up to £1000, after which they need a consumer credit licence (£335 which is a cost payable by them, not you).

Past that, the sky is the limit. There's no need to go through cyclescheme, ride2work or any of the other companies set up to profit from the tax rules. The tax rules are published by the IR and are quite simple.

Simply put:

1. You go to a bikeshop and get a quote in writing for the bike you want.
2. You take the quote back to your employer, who then buys the bike for you, outright. (this is the sticking point for many small employers). If your employer is VAT registered, your company can then reclaim the VAT on this item, reducing the cost by 17.5%
3. You then hire-purchase the bike from your employer over 12 months. The cost per month is deducted from your gross earnings (before any tax, pension or NI comes out) meaning you pay less tax/NI, effectively reducing the cost of the bike. This can only happen if it does not reduce your net earnings below the national minimum wage. This is an effective limitation on the cost of your bike.
4. At the end of the 12 months, you pay an agreed settlement sum (pennies) and you then own the bike.
5. If you leave your job before settling, you must pay the remaining balance on the bike. This cannot come out of your gross pay.

whats your budget?

Cranks: Saint crankset (if your going pimp then go for the 09's)
Brakes: 09 saint brakes, or possibly avid codes.
Wheels: Mavic Deemax or Deetracks......Or DT 5.1 on pro 2's
forks: you going triple clamps? if so then id say Boxxers
         if your not going triple then id say Rockshox Domains or Fox 36's
Derailleurs: something cheap - road mech would be good, so something like tiagra
Bars: Easton are always a good direction to go in
Stem:Easton Vice Dh Stem

Interdh5

(obviously some people may disagree with me)

Domains may not be pimp enough in your opinion but have you seen the white ones?
also id go for Domains over Totems anyday purely because theyre more reliable and dont need a service as often (please dont now turn this into an argument its only my recommendation on spec)

You need to tell us wether your aiming for a DH spec or a FR spec.....

Interdh5