Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems is celebrating 20 years of the Bendix ADB22X air disc brake (ADB), a technology that has helped redefine commercial vehicle braking across North America.
Since its 2005 debut, the ADB22X brake has delivered measurable gains in safety, performance, and maintenance efficiency, becoming the most widely equipped air disc brake in its class on the continent. With more than seven million units produced for North America, the ADB22X continues to set the standard for fleet value and reliability.
“The ADB22X air disc brake changed the way fleets and drivers thought about braking,” says Keith McComsey, technical sales lead for NA Wheel-End at Bendix. “With clear advantages in stopping power, reliability, and serviceability, it quickly became the go-to ADB for a wide range of vehicles. Two decades later, it continues to deliver daily value – and its legacy is still unfolding.”
Used on everything from line-haul tractors and refuse vehicles to school buses and construction trucks, the ADB22X has become a foundation of the Bendix wheel-end portfolio and a core enabler of the company’s broader mission to improve transportation safety and system efficiency, the company says.
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As safety and life-cycle value rose to the forefront of fleet priorities, the Bendix ADB22X played a key role in accelerating the shift toward air disc brake spec’ing across North America, moving the technology from early adoption into widespread industry standard.
Its shorter stopping distances and reduced brake fade made it an immediate safety upgrade for vehicles of all types, while its lightweight construction contributed to fuel economy and helped increase available payload. The brake also brought smoother, straighter, and more stable stops, as well as a car-like feel, additional performance advantages that increase driver satisfaction and retention.
Safety was only part of the equation; for maintenance professionals and fleet operators, the ADB22X meant faster pad replacements — often taking one-quarter of the time compared to drum systems — and longer intervals between service, thanks to extended friction life and reduced component wear. Over time, the brake’s long-term impact on uptime, service, and total cost of ownership became just as central to its appeal as its performance on the road — offering a compelling value proposition year after year.
“We built the ADB22X to solve problems that fleets were facing day in and day out,” McComsey says. “Its success is rooted in that philosophy: deliver measurable improvements, keep trucks moving, and never compromise on safety.”
Another key differentiator is Bendix’s ability to provide a complete ADB system – including the caliper, chamber, actuator, rotor, friction, and wear-sensing electronics — all engineered to work together for maximum performance and reliability. This vertically integrated approach eliminates piecemealing and ensures a fully optimized brake package, the company adds.
The brake system has also evolved over time, incorporating new friction formulations and design adjustments to serve a broader array of vehicle types – from on-highway tractors to vocational and medium-duty applications. Bendix ADB22X air disc brakes are available through all the major truck manufacturers, where they are offered standard on a range of models.
As commercial vehicle adoption of air disc brakes has grown across North America, with rates on Class 6-8 vehicles topping 50%, up from approximately 25% in 2018, Bendix has responded with continued investments in its manufacturing footprint. The company’s Bowling Green, Ky., facility, which has supported ADB production since the system’s earliest days and now houses the largest installed capacity for air disc brake production on the continent, has seen multiple expansions in support of increasing demand.
“Our ability to scale ADB production while maintaining quality and performance has been a critical part of our success,” McComsey says. “The Bowling Green plant represents not just manufacturing capacity, but our long-term commitment to making these technologies available and accessible to customers across the industry.”
In 2016, recognizing the need for consistent braking performance across entire vehicle configurations, Bendix introduced the ADB22X-LT – a trailer-specific version of the brake designed to bring the same benefits to the back of the rig. Developed with lighter-weight packaging, extended pad life and optimized brake balance, Bendix says the ADB22X-LT helped address the challenges of mixed fleet environments while maintaining the core features that made the original ADB22X so widely trusted.
Today, the ADB22X-LT plays a growing role in helping fleets standardize their brake systems, streamline serviceability, and maximize performance across all axles. The model has been adopted by a wide range of trailer OEMs and is contributing to broader industry efforts to enhance braking uniformity and stability between tractors and trailers, the company says.
“The ADB22X-LT was developed to meet a clear need in the field,” McComsey says. “It’s helped make consistent, high-performing braking possible across the entire vehicle.”
