Landing gear generally comes in two basic configurations — a single continuous leg spanning the full width of the model, or two separate legs each bolted individually to their own side of the fuselage. Both are common, and the right choice often comes down to your specific airframe rather than a universal “better” option.
One-piece (spring/bow style) gear flexes as a single unit, which can give a smoother, more even landing feel since load on one side is partially shared across to the other through the continuous leg. It’s a simple, proven design used on a huge range of sport and scale models, and there’s generally one fewer set of mounting points to maintain.
Two-piece gear mounts each leg independently, which is often the only practical option on wider fuselages or models where a single-span leg simply wouldn’t fit the available mounting area. It also means a heavy landing that stresses one leg doesn’t necessarily transmit that load across to the other side — which some flyers see as an advantage, and others see as losing the shared-load benefit of a one-piece design.
If you’re replacing gear on an existing model, the honest answer is: match whatever configuration the model was designed around, since the fuselage mounting points and internal structure are usually built around one style specifically. Converting from one-piece to two-piece (or vice versa) on an existing airframe is possible but generally means reinforcing or modifying the mounting area — not a straightforward swap.
If you’re scratch-building or heavily modifying, it’s worth deciding early, since it affects fuselage design at the mounting area rather than being a late-stage decision.
Take a look at our Extra 330 Carbon fibre undercarriage 30e for a solid example of correctly sized gear.