How heavy or light are you packing? I have gone fairly heavy, to ultra light, and everything in between.

Going fairly heavy on my first tour (TA) two of us used Nashbar front lowriders and one used a similar rack from Performance. They were inexpensive and trouble free for the TA and a lot of subsequent touring miles. They are inexpensive to start with, go on sale often, and when they do are often at a greatly reduced price. Right now I think they are $19.99, a fraction of what some racks cost. They seem to me to be sturdy enough to last for many TAs and a lot of years.

At the lighter end of the packing range I have sometimes used only a handlebar bag or a bar roll on the front.