Winter training on a roller and climbing feeling

Hi all, maybe this subject was already spoken, but here is my situation.

I want to get fit (or try maintaining my last season fitness) doing training on a roller. I maybe want to try racing next season.

Doing roller, I can get my HR pretty high with some real effort, even if much more effort is needed than when I ride outside. Yes my heart is pounding hard, yes I'm breathless. Problem is that I can't feel my legs work that hard. My fear is to lose some strenght in my legs and my hill performance may suffer when season will begin.

Am I the only one experiencing that on a roller? Is there a way to feel the legs works hard to get the feeling to climd a hill? Any exercice that could help?

Any advise or comments are welcome

Have you considered trying a Trainer instead of a roller?

Sorry, I used the wrong word. What I have is a trainer.

I wouldn't worry about tilt to replicate grade. I do, however, shift down a few gears, sit back on the saddle, hands on the tops, and replicate easy climbing when doing base rides. This builds strength in the hips, back, and also gets you our of the normal saddle position so that you can stay on the traininer longer.

Say, 2 minutes every 10 minutes. Get out of the saddle in a hard gear too, makes the trainer bearable.

I can get a damn good climbing workout on my rollers. Shift down to a smaller rear cog, stand up, and crank away for 15 minutes. If you survive that, recover at a normal pace, and repeat. Puked once after doing this a couple times.

And I consider climbing to be my strength, if that lends any credibility to this method.

Not all the trainers allow for hill training. Stefs, can you describe your trainer? Do you have the ability to increase the resistance a lot? Is it stable enough for you to pedal off the saddle?