It irks me when people make smart-ass derogatory replies. Having spent 40 years as a food processing engineer, I have seen a lot of stainless steel that was badly corroded. From worse to better; 304, 304L, 316, 316L, and 317L, are the common commercial grades available suitable for corrosive conditions. All of them can and do corrode under certain circumstances. Cost becomes a major factor, availability from suppliers becomes a factor. Sometimes you can only use what you can get. The more exotic alloys like Titanium, Hastelloy and Inconel may be appropriate in a lab, but are seldom a practical or cost effective solution for most industrial installations (there are exceptions). Improper sanitation procedures by under-trained sanitation crews is a common and major factor. Perhaps the inexperience of an engineer might be a cause, but usually the stupidity of the engineer is pretty dang low on the list of factors.
Plastic components are often a better corrosion resistant solution, but sometimes you can't use plastic because of strength or temperature considerations.
In regards to the OPs situation; I'd be reluctant to use sugar water. There are to many unknowns. Corrosion may be an issue, especially if the tires are tubeless. If the concentration is high, I can see the sugar coming out of solution at cold temperatures potentially causing issues. It may work but has unknown risks. If you don't want to take the time and expense to go somewhere for beet juice, then windshield washer fluid is the probably the most affordable option that you can do fairly easily by yourself.