I've used front platform racks in the past and they just aren't all that useful in my opinion. I use the rear deck on my rear rack to carry my tent, sleeping bag and pad and just don't need more room up front for carrying those items. The lowrider make sense in how it helps with carrying the load but a front deck is just wasted space.

Tubus stuff is well liked because it's well made. Long ago (and even now) racks had flat stays that were used to attach the rack to the seat stays. They were (and are) mostly a pain to use. The Tubus attachment system is much easier to install and adjust to where you need the rack stays to go. And they are rock solid.